


Fayth

by Batsutousai



Category: Final Fantasy X, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-12
Updated: 2010-01-26
Packaged: 2017-10-20 05:55:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 52,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/209478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Batsutousai/pseuds/Batsutousai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry Potter defeated Voldemort, but at a price. When a new evil comes that he cannot defeat alone, he and his friends lock themselves in stone to fight it. One day, thousands of years later, Harry is freed and starts a journey with another young man who is equally lost to finish the job Harry once started.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'd by [Shara Lunison](http://archiveofourown.org/users/SharaLunison).
> 
>  **Disclaim Her:** This story uses characters and settings owned by J.K. Rowling, her publishers and Square Enix. No money is being made from the creation of this fanfic, and no copywrite infringement is intended.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I was bored one afternoon – FFN's email system was down again, so I had no idea if any of the fics I was watching had updated, and I'd finished whatever else I was up to – and happened to come across a HP/FFX crossover that was so good, it completely blew my mind. (It's called [Dark Summoner](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2517783/1/Dark_Summoner) and is by [Mage-Alia](http://www.fanfiction.net/u/246597/Mage_Alia). ^.^") After reading it, I wandered that tiny corner of fandom – as I'm typing this, there are 12 fics in that category on FFN, though there could be more under one fandom or the other – and sort of got lost in there for a bit.  
> And then, after going through the fics in that little hole that interested me, I was like, "I could write something for this fandom!!"  
> Oops.  
> So! Here's my attempt at this mesh. Let me know what you think.
> 
> This story starts out in Harry's world, with a few added FFX twists, but the bulk of the story will take place in Spira. For the most part, the magic will be FFX-based, but there will be some HP magic in there too.

"It's not going to work, Ron," Harry Potter said tiredly, leaning against what was left of the wall.

Ron Weasley glared up at his best friend from where he and Hermione Granger were looking over some plans for defeating the strange man who had showed up a few weeks after Voldemort's defeat and turned their world upside-down. "It has to work," the young man replied.

Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister, looked up from the work Hermione had set her to. Between Voldemort and this new enemy, she'd missed almost two years of schooling, and Hermione intended to make her catch up, even if it killed her. Ginny hadn't seemed to mind; she said it helped keep the nightmares away. "Ron, I think Harry's right. Our magic just doesn't work on him."

"Well, neither does anything else!" Ron snapped, throwing a book at the wall and nearly missing Harry's head. "Not even the muggles have been able to stop him! If we don't do something soon, there won't be anyone left to fight for!"

"The muggle guns had the most impact," Hermione whispered, eyes bright with tears. Out of all of them, she'd taken the fight the hardest; her parents had still been in Australia when the man bombed the place to hell, and she'd been with Ginny at the Burrow when a nearby attack had levelled the precarious building, killing everyone inside. "Maybe we can...?"

"What? Fight with his best weapon?" Ron spat. "We don't even know how to _use_ the things, and every time we get close, they die because of our magic."

"Maybe there's a way to infuse a muggle gun with magic?" Harry suggested, mostly ignoring Ron's scathing tone. He'd become mostly immune to his best friend's anger; it was Ron's way of coping.

Two people dashed into the crumbling building that had once been a cathedral in down town London. (Now, not only was the cathedral decimated, so was the city outside, leaving little habitable.) Neville Longbottom took a moment to catch his breath while Luna Lovegood walked over to the table Ron and Hermione hovered over with a bag. The small blonde set the bag down on the table while Neville said, "That's all we could find."

"Are they out there?" Ginny asked, eyes wide at the fresh cuts on both Luna and Neville's arms.

Neville grimaced while Luna, reminded of their wounds, went to their first aid kit for bandages. "Yeah. Two of his air droids. We managed to bring them down with magic about twenty kilometres from here."

"We'll have to move again," Harry said with a heavy sigh. Whenever a droid was killed, more would come, searching for the people who had damaged them. Twenty kilometres wasn't far enough away.

Hermione sniffed and buried her face in her hands. Ginny hurried to her side to comfort her while Ron grunted and got up to start packing.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," Neville whispered.

Harry took the bandage Luna was holding out to Neville and gently started wrapping the other's arm. "You couldn't help it," he murmured.

Neville looked at Harry helplessly. "I wish I could."

-0-0-0-

Three moves later, they came across a book which had been unburied by a recent explosion.

"The Arte of Summoning," Ginny said, picking the dusty book up from some rubble. "Sounds very muggle," she commented sarcastically, eyeing the muggle church they were standing in. Like most holy places in the muggle world, the building had been built to survive a lot more damage than the skyscrapers the muggles had been fond of populating their cities with, and so made a perfect place for the six young women and men to hide out for a few days.

Hermione took the offered book and curled up in a pew, happy to have something to focus on. Two moves ago, they hadn't had the time to grab more than a few supplies before they'd had to vacate or be killed, and books were far less important than food, so they'd left it all behind. By now, the small bookcase Hermione had dragged with them since Hogwarts was bombed would be nothing more than ash and rubble.

While Hermione got sucked in by the book, the other five young adults figured out sleeping quarters and found a place to store what little food they had left.

"We'll need more soon," Neville whispered to Harry while the youngest two girls and Ron went about finding soft things for beds. "This won't last us more than two days."

Harry looked at their meagre supply and smiled grimly. "I remember a day when this much food wouldn't have lasted us a single meal," he said.

Neville patted his too thin stomach and grinned back with sorrow in his eyes. "Those were the days, eh?"

Harry nodded. "Want to help me raid the kitchen?" he asked, hoping against hope that there was something left.

Neville sighed and nodded. They quietly told Luna and Ginny where they were going, then wandered deeper into the church, looking for a kitchen.

They found the kitchen, but most of the leftover food was spoiled. There were two dried out loaves of bread that had managed to not get mouldy, a few cans of carrots and chicken, and a large block of cheese that they could easily cut the creeping mould off of. There was also some wine, which the two boys grabbed with bland smiles, silently agreeing to let the others have their pick of it first; someone needed to be cognisant enough to keep watch through the night.

When they got back, they found Hermione almost smiling as she explained something to a wide-eyed Ron and Ginny. Luna stood silently next to her best friend, eyes bright with a hope none of them had felt since the appearance of the strange new man. Harry and Neville quickly shoved their spoils under the table they'd decided to keep their food in, then hurried over to where the other four teens were.

As soon as Hermione saw them, she sat forward, eyes sparkling. "I found something!" she told them.

Harry and Neville sat down with their friends and Neville said, "Go on, then."

Hermione nodded and opened the book Ginny had found to a picture of a large beast. "This is called an aeon," she said, pointing to the picture. "It's a magical beast of some sort that comes through from another dimension. According to this book, they're called forth by people called 'Summoners', who pray to something called 'the fayth' to get them. Aeons have enormous power and are able to defeat foes which normal people could never _imagine_ facing."

"How would we go about finding one of these 'summoners'?" Neville asked.

Hermione's face fell, then. "I don't think they exist any more. This book is old, held together by some impressive spells. There's a list of Summoners in the back, but the only names on their I really recognise are from before Hogwarts was even built!"

"Like who?" Ginny asked.

"Merlin," Hermione whispered reverently.

Harry sat back in his seat while the other five looked heartbroken. "Is there a chance we could find these... What are they? Fayth?" he asked, looking at Hermione.

The girl shrugged helplessly. "I wouldn't know where to start. And I have no idea what we'd do if we found them."

"Well, we'll keep our eyes open," Harry decided, desperate to have some sort of hope for them to hold on to, however unlikely it was. "Does the book say what these fayth look like?"

Hermione quickly flipped through the book, eventually coming across a picture of a person encased in some sort of crystal. "This is a fayth."

Harry looked at everyone, eyes firm. "Keep your eyes peeled."

They all nodded, then Neville cleared his throat. "Harry and I found wine."

Immediately, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were up, following Neville to the alcohol.

Luna scooted closer to Harry and set a hand on his knee, eyes questioning. She'd lost her voice early on, around the time when Hogwarts was destroyed, but her friends had learned to understand her without words.

Harry looked away, now, and said, "I hope so, but I don't know."

Luna tightened her grip on Harry's knee, shaking it slightly.

Harry smiled at her and gently ran a hand through her grimy hair. "I'm not giving up, Luna. I promise."

Luna nodded, relieved, and stood up to join the others over by the food and wine, leaving Harry to think about better times.

-0-0-0-

Harry sat up tiredly, smiling at where Ron snored loudly next to him. As agreed, Neville and Harry had refrained from drinking the wine, and the other four had passed out shortly after consuming the whole bottle. Neville was out in the chapel, keeping watch, and Harry was supposed to be sleeping in the room the boys had been given, but his mind was a mess of thoughts and he hadn't been able to get to sleep.

Harry walked out into the chapel, lips quirking with a smile when Neville jumped and spun to face him, wand out. They watched each other for a long moment before Neville relaxed, waving at Harry tiredly.

Harry walked over to Neville and sat on the cold stone floor next to him. "All quiet?"

Neville nodded. "Ginny came out earlier for the loo, but so far everything has been pretty dull." He sighed and sat next to Harry, quietly bumping shoulders. "What brings you here?"

Harry shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."

Neville nodded knowingly. "Do you want to take watch? Or are you going to wander?"

Harry grimaced. Often, when he couldn't sleep, he would walk around whatever building they'd decided to stay in. After a long moment of contemplation, he stood and said, "I think I'll take a look around. Maybe I'll find more wine."

Neville smiled sadly. "Be careful."

"You, too."

Harry walked quietly from the chapel and wandered randomly through the church. Eventually, he found a large chunk of rubble which seemed to be blocking the way to a staircase. Curious, he magically moved the rubble and wandered down the steps.

At the bottom of the stairs were catacombs, and by the smell of things, people had tried hiding in them. Harry carefully preformed a bubble head charm before continuing on, wand held out in front of him.

It didn't take long for Harry to find the bodies. London had been one of the first cities attacked, and from the looks of the bodies, they'd been down there since that day. A small cave-in seemed to have knocked one of the three men out, and the others probably died from starvation when they realised they couldn't get out through the stairs.

Harry whispered a prayer he remembered from church with the Dursleys and burned the bodies, not wanting to see them. Once the evidence was gone, he continued on, still cautious.

Many twists and turns later, Harry came across another cave-in, but this one had opened a hole to another room. Harry poked his head in and gasped at the large crystal in the floor.

When he stepped fully into the room, a ghostly form rose up over the crystal, and a sad woman looked up at him. "What brings you here, Summoner?"

Harry swallowed. "I'm not a summoner."

The woman looked at him curiously. "You could be," she said after a moment. "You have the magic."

Harry blinked, stepping forward. "Please, could you tell me more about them? The summoners? We've only just read about them..."

The woman nodded and quietly relayed everything Hermione had explained to them earlier. When she finished, she added, "I am Aldine, the last Fayth."

Harry felt like he'd been punched and fell heavily to the ground. "The last?" he whispered.

Aldine nodded. "I can't feel the others," she explained.

Harry closed his eyes. "No..."

"Why does this worry you so, Summoner?" the woman asked.

Harry looked up at her. "There's a man wrecking my world, destroying my people...." He shook his head. "Hermione, my friend, found the book about summoners and fayth and we'd hoped you could help us, if we could ever find you. But there's only one..."

Aldine cocked her head to one side. "One might be enough," she pointed out. "But if you need more, you can always create more fayth."

Harry stared at her, hope blooming in green eyes. "How?" he whispered.

Aldine smiled sadly. "Fayth are people, just like you, who sacrificed themselves to provide aeons. Fayth must always be a Summoner, as only they have the strength to call forth and grant aeons. The stronger the Fayth was in life, the stronger the aeon will be when granted, though the true strength of the aeon always depends on the Summoner who uses it in battle."

Dread started to pool in Harry's stomach as something occurred to him, and he asked, "What happens to the fayth?"

Aldine smiled. "We become nothing more than a memory, passed down through our aeons. The aeons can only be accessed so long as the Fayth wish to survive, or as long as their crystal tomb remains intact." She waved her hand at the crystal beneath her feet, where a woman looking very much like the ghost lay.

Harry stood. "I... Thank you. I have to speak with my friends..."

Aldine nodded. "I'll be here," she said.

-0-0-0-

The next morning, Harry told his friends everything.

As expected, Hermione was the first to speak after Harry's tale, "So, let me get this straight. Basically, if we want more than one aeon to fight that man, some of us will have to sacrifice our lives?"

"I'd do it," Neville said softly, shocking everyone. He looked Harry in the eye and said, "If we need an aeon, I'll happily do it."

"So would I," Ginny said, not one to be outdone.

"Guys..." Hermione tried.

"What is there left to live for?" Ginny demanded of the brunette. "I can't keep _running_ , Hermione! If my choices are to run or to sacrifice myself so we have a fighting chance, I'd rather do the latter."

Luna set her hand on Ginny's shoulder and nodded, her meaning clear: 'I would sacrifice myself too.'

Ron looked like someone had punched him in the stomach, but he still leaned forward and said, "If three of us sacrifice ourselves to become fayth, and three of us become Summoners, we might very well have a chance."

Heart in his throat, Harry nodded; it was the same conclusion he'd come to last night, especially after reading Hermione's book and finding out that you could only summon one aeon at a time, and you couldn't have more than one of the same aeon summoned at the same time.

"Well then," Neville said quietly, "why don't we go ask Aldine what's required for becoming a fayth."

-0-0-0-

They chose Hogwarts as their final resting place. Harry, Ron and Hermione stood silently in the doorway of the ruined Great Hall while their three friends sacrificed themselves to become fayth.

"Just us, now," Ron whispered as the lights from the magic died down, leaving three crystals with bodies inside.

"Just like it's always been," Harry agreed grimly, then stepped forward and knelt in front of what was left of his friends. Ron and Hermione knelt on either side of him.

As Aldine had done, Ginny, Luna and Neville rose as ghosts from their crystal prisons, each of them smiling. "We grant unto you our inner selves," Ginny said.

"Use them well," Luna whispered.

"Kick his arse," Neville added, making the three living friends laugh through their tears.

Once they felt the connections to their friends solidify, Harry, Ron and Hermione stood and left the Great Hall, grasping hands.

"This is it," Harry whispered.

"Let's make it count," Ron agreed.

Between them, Hermione just nodded, choking out a sob.

Together, they apparated to where they knew the man they had run from for three years lay in wait.

-0-0-0-

The fight had been ugly, but in the end, Harry triumphed again, just as he had against Voldemort.

But the price had been too high.

"Ron... Hermione..." Harry whispered, kneeling next to their bodies. In the end, they'd sacrificed themselves so he could get in the final shot. His friends, always sacrificing themselves for him.

"Now what?" he whispered to the empty sky. Another evil had been conquered, but he was all alone. There was nothing left.

'We're still here, Harry,' Luna whispered in his mind.

'We'll always be here, with you,' Ginny agreed.

Harry bit his lip, then nodded, decided. He burned Ron and Hermione's bodies, then apparated back to Hogwarts. There, he performed the spells to become a fayth.

It would be thousands of years before he would have a reason to live again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmmmmm.... I dunno. Kinda angsty, yeah?  
> Oh well. XD


	2. Ruins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to have a fair bit of fun with FFX canon, just so you know. Ginny, Luna and Neville are all fayth from the game, but Harry isn't. (Technically, Harry's aeon is from other FF games, but was never in 10. ^.^" )  
> Also, because a lot of people asked: Ron and Hermione are dead. They never became fayths, so they only live on in the memories of Harry, Ginny, Luna and Neville.
> 
> OH! And because people kept mentioning it: No, I haven't yet read [phoenix catcher](http://www.fanfiction.net/u/468737/phoenix_catcher)'s [Bound through the Ages](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3482419/1/Bound_through_the_Ages), though it IS on my to-read list. So, if you see anything in the first...oh...five chapters or so from that fic, it's not on purpose. (Nor is on purpose if you see stuff from Dark Summoner, really, but something might have slipped in. *sheepish* )

Harry woke with a groan and blinked up at the sun, feeling confused. Hadn't he just been a fayth? He, Luna, Neville and Ginny had watched as the years passed and summoning became a popular pastime again. They watched fayth come and go and, occasionally, granted aeons to those in need.

He knew that a new creature, named Sin, was running amok in what had become of his world after the millennia had passed, and that summoners chose to sacrifice themselves to destroy it, giving their world peace for ten years.

Harry had always thought those people brave. Really, really stupid, but brave.

So, what the hell was he doing in the sunlight? Fayth didn't just become humans again.

Someone grunted nearby and Harry struggled to sit up, squinting against the glare. A boy lay not far from him, dressed in outlandish clothing. 'Although,' Harry considered, looking down at his own ripped clothing, the same from his last days as a human, 'I'm not dressed much better.'

The boy jerked upwards, looking around in panic. He didn't seem to see Harry and instead shouted, "Anybody there? Auron! Heeey!"

Harry sighed at the boy and said, "I sincerely doubt anyone is around to hear you."

The boy spun around quickly and ended up overbalancing, falling sideways into the water surrounding the small ruin they'd been sitting on.

Harry cocked an eyebrow as the boy broke through to the surface of the water, glaring at him. "Yes?"

The boy crossed his arms over his chest. "Who're you?"

Harry sighed. "Harry. And you?"

"Tidus," the boy ground out, looking around. "Where the hell are we?"

Harry glanced around himself. "I don't kn..." His voice caught as he sensed the magic in the air and realised where he was. "No..."

Harry jumped into the water, ignoring the boy behind him, and swam to another piece of ruin, his heart in his throat. He climbed up on the half-submerged rubble and touched the Hogwarts crest, which lay emblazoned on it. "Oh.... Merlin...."

"Heeey!" Tidus shouted, pulling himself up onto the stone behind Harry. "Why the hell are you running off for? Hey..." He came to a stop next to Harry, blocking out some of the sun. "What's that?"

Harry stood up, determinedly looking away from the crest, trying not to see what was left of his home. "Let's go," he ordered Tidus, jumping back into the water.

"Would you answer me?" Tidus demanded, jumping back into the water after Harry. "Where are we?"

Harry stopped and turned to look at the blond, treading water. "This place was once called Hogwarts," he said in a voice he forced to stay steady. "It was a school of magic. As you can see, it's not much of anything, now." He turned away from the boy. "If you don't mind, I'd like to find some dry land, before we freeze to death. The sun is going down."

Tidus seemed to decide his best option was to follow Harry quietly, for that's what he did.

They kept their peace until they reached some dry ground, beyond which was a stone bridge. There, Tidus asked, "How do you know this place? Are you from around here?"

Harry sighed. "The crest, back on that stone," he said, waving his hand negligently in the direction of the rubble he'd found the crest on, "it was the crest for the school. And, no, I'm not from around here. I'm not even sure _why_ I'm here." He glanced suspiciously at the boy. "What about you?"

Tidus shrugged and walked past Harry, starting along the bridge. "I'm from Zanarkand. Sin showed up and attacked during a game. Now I'm here."

"Zanarkand?" Harry replied dumbly. If he had his time periods right, Zanarkand was destroyed a thousand years ago. Which meant...

Harry stopped, suddenly remembering the dream some of the fayth were having. A dream of Zanarkand as it was _before_ Sin destroyed it. A dream they were hoping would save Spira by bringing forth people...

There was a cracking sound ahead of him and Harry heard Tidus shout before he fell down into the water under the bridge.

"Now what?" Harry muttered to himself, hurrying forward to where Tidus fell. The bridge was out, which meant he'd probably have to join the boy in the water. And didn't _that_ sound like fun.

"Hey! Harry! You still up there?" Tidus called up.

Harry sighed. Nothing for it.

Once Harry was again treading water next to the blond, Tidus intelligently asked, "Now what?"

Harry sighed again. "Is there an underwater exit? I didn't think to look..."

They both dove down to try and find an exit, but before they could, they had to deal with a few small fiends. Harry realised, then, that he had no wand – no focus – and was technically useless. He mentally cursed himself until a bigger fish showed up. At that point, he grabbed Tidus' arm and made for a hole he'd seen.

They just made it through the hole, which closed up behind them. Breathing hard, they took a moment to rest out of the water before continuing further into the building, both shivering slightly.

They found a dead camp-fire and separated to find something to light it with. When they got back, they managed to light the fire and sat on either side of it.

"I'm hungry," Tidus complained, breaking the silence.

Harry smiled bitterly, remembering his friends all those years ago and scavenging the ruins of London for food.

Briefly, Harry wondered what had happened to London.

Harry heard soft snoring and looked across the fire to where Tidus was off in dreamland. Harry sighed and rolled his eyes. "I'll take the first watch," he muttered to the sleeping boy.

-0-0-0-

Harry woke Tidus when the fire went out, then watched helplessly as the boy tried to keep it from going out. After a moment, Tidus snapped, "What are you just sitting there for?"

"It's out of wood," Harry replied.

Tidus huffed and stood. "I'll go find more the...n... Shit!"

Harry jerked around to see what Tidus had and found himself staring at a giant fiend. "Oh, bugger," he complained, hurrying to his feet and putting Tidus with his big sword between himself and the bug. "I really need a bloody focus," he added as Tidus took a swing at the fiend.

Before the fiend could do more than step towards Tidus, a door slammed open and a group of oddly dressed people with guns came in. The lead girl stepped forward to help Tidus while Harry stepped back, relieved. Before he could feel too relieved, however, one of the men who'd stayed near the doors grabbed him and slammed the butt of his gun against the side of his head.

-0-0-0-

Harry woke to raised voices yelling in another language. He slowly opened his eyes and groaned.

"Harry?" he heard Tidus call, then one of the men near the boy snapped something and waved his gun around threateningly. "Whoa! I'm just making sure my friend is okay!"

Harry forced himself into a sitting position, only to find a gun pointed warningly at his head. "All those years, and I never bothered to study Al Bhed," he complained, hands up in surrender. "Please don't shoot me."

"Hey! Leave him alone!" Tidus said, moving towards Harry.

" **Ehcmahla!** " one of the men shouted, putting the end of his gun next to Tidus' head.

" _Please_ don't make them angry," Harry said tiredly.

Tidus grinned.

The girl who'd fought with Tidus earlier came forward then, telling her people to stop – at least, that's what Harry assumed she'd said, as the guns pointed at their heads had lowered. The girl then turned to them and said, "You can stay if you make yourselves useful."

"You... You understand us?" Tidus said incredulously.

Harry sighed. "Well, the idiot's handy with a sword, but I've lost my focus, so you might as well toss me overboard."

"Harry!"

The girl's lips quirked. "We can get you another focus."

Harry cocked an eyebrow at her. "In that case, I'll happily help you with whatever you're up to."

She turned back to her men and gave them directions while Tidus sidled up to Harry and asked, "Focus?"

Harry sighed. "I use magic, and I need something to channel that magic through to use it. If I hadn't lost my wand, I could have made us a nice fire and maybe conjured up some food earlier."

" _Now_ he says something."

Harry rolled his eyes, then looked up in surprise when a staff appeared in front of him. The man holding it out looked quite disgruntled, so Harry took it gently and nodded his thanks. The man glared and backed up, giving Harry room to stand next to Tidus. Before he did anything more than stand, Harry cast a couple of spells on himself to mend his clothing and speed up his natural assimilation of the Al Bhed language, hoping he wouldn't need the girl to translate for him for the entire rest of the journey.

"Well, come on!" said girl urged them, then jumped into the water.

Tidus eyed Harry with concern, so the young man waved him on before casting a bubble head spell on himself and following the two down into the ocean.

Both the girl and Tidus looked rather amused by his need for the charm, so he stuck his tongue out at them before miming a question about where they were headed.

The three of them swam down to a large piece of machina and went about getting it up and working a bit. They had to battle a large fiend while they were down there, but between the three of them, it wasn't much trouble. (It helped that Harry knew some good offensive spells, even if none of them were like the magic for this version of the world. Harry made a mental note to learn those spells as quickly as he could, so he wouldn't stand out as much.)

They made it back up to the ship without any problems and Harry sat back to listen to the Al Bhed language some. He quirked a smile when Tidus got shoved away from the door that led deeper into the ship.

Tidus stormed over to him and flopped down on the deck. "Bastards."

Harry smiled outright and shook his head. "I'm sure they say the same about you."

"Who _are_ they?" Tidus asked.

Harry sighed and silently conjured some food, receiving an enthusiastic 'Thanks!' "They're Al Bhed," he replied to Tidus' question as the boy stuffed his face. "They aren't well liked by the other people of Spira, because they use machina – machines – which is against the 'holy' writings of the religion here." He waved his hand about negligently.

"Spira?" Tidus asked around a mouth-full of food.

Harry rolled his eyes. "This world. It's called Spira." He eyed the boy oddly. "Surely you knew that, being from Zanarkand? The world's been called Spira for almost three millennia now."

Tidus blinked. "If you say so."

Harry sighed. So, the boy _was_ from the dream.

"So, what are the chances of my going home, do you think?" Tidus asked, going back to the food.

Harry winced. "Tidus, Zanarkand has been destroyed for almost one thousand years now – there's nothing for you to go back to."

Tidus stopped eating in favour of staring at Harry in disbelief. "No, that's not..."

"Zanarkand is _gone_ , boy," Harry said firmly. "Denying it won't change that."

Tidus watched him for a few more minutes before getting up and walking to the railing along the bow, which he leaned against.

Harry sighed and waved his staff to get rid of the food. He glanced up at the boy's back and called, "If it makes you feel any better, my home's gone too."

Tidus turned to look at him, wounded. "Yeah, but has it been gone for one _thousand_ years?"

Harry smiled bitterly. "Hogwarts was my home," he replied simply.

Tidus swallowed and looked away, clearly remembering the rubble they'd woken in.

The door to the rest of the ship opened then and the girl from earlier came out with some food. She eyed the two males curiously for a moment before offering the food to Harry, since he didn't seem to be brooding like Tidus was.

"Thank you," Harry said, taking the tray and setting it next to him.

The girl smiled and sat down next to him with one last look at Tidus. "Is he going to be okay?"

Harry glanced up from the food, which he'd taken a few bites of. "Tidus? I assume so. He's had a rough time of it."

The girl watched him curiously. "And you?"

Harry smiled. "My whole life has been rough. I count my blessings, rather than my woes."

The girl's nose wrinkled in disgust. "Please tell me you're not about to praise Yevon."

Harry laughed and shook his head. "Oh, Merlin, no. I don't believe in that false prophet."

"Even if the teachings are what helps us achieve the Calm?" the girl replied.

Harry paused at that, and wondered how bad of an idea it would be to tell her what he, as a fayth, knew about Sin and Yevon. Al Bhed were, by no means, believers, but telling her the truth could very well break any beliefs she had about the teachings, and Harry wasn't one to tear people's worlds apart; he'd had it happen to himself far too often for that.

"Hey, so, what's your name?" Tidus asked the girl, walking back over to join them. As soon as he sat down next to Harry, he pulled over the tray of food and started scarfing it.

The girl wrinkled her nose again and answered, "Rikku. And you're... Tidus?"

Tidus nodded, then jerked a thumb at Harry, "He's Harry."

Harry cocked an eyebrow at the boy, unamused.

Tidus just grinned at him.

Rikku smiled at them and asked, "So, what were you two doing in those ruins?"

Harry shrugged. "Well, Tidus blames Sin, but I haven't the faintest."

Rikku blinked at the younger male. "You survived an attack from Sin?"

Tidus blinked, then nodded. "Yeah. Why? Am I not supposed to?" He glanced at Harry, as if expecting the other to have an answer.

"It's unusual for someone to survive a direct confrontation with Sin," Harry admitted quietly. "But it's not impossible."

"See! What he said," Tidus said to Rikku, then turned back to what little food was left on the tray.

Rikku smiled at them in amusement. "If you say so. You are an unlikely pair, though," she added. "With your odd clothing. And the fact that you both turned up in those ruins..."

"Our clothing isn't odd," Tidus complained, then looked down at his shorts. "Is it?"

Harry shook his head. "Yes, Tidus, we're wearing strange clothing. At least, we are so far as the people of Spira are concerned." He rolled his eyes at the sheepish smile on the boy's face and the grin on the girl's. "Honestly. Let's see, your shorts are odd, and no one has shirts like that. Anyway, you're a fighter, so you're expected to dress accordingly. I dunno, maybe some pants. Sturdier shoes, certainly."

"And you?" Tidus challenged.

Harry cocked an eyebrow. "And me? Well, I should probably be wearing robes of some sort, since I'm a summoner–"

"You're a summoner?!" Rikku squeaked at the same time as Tidus asked, "A what?"

Harry rolled his eyes skyward, then turned to Rikku first, since she actually understood what he was. "Yes. Is there something wrong with that? I was under the impression that the Al Bhed were as pleased as the rest of Spira with the Calm, even though they don't care for Yevon."

"We like the Calm, but not when it means sacrificing the life of the summoner who brings it about!" Rikku snapped.

Harry's eyes widened in surprise, then he smiled. "I have no intention of sacrificing myself or a guardian to bring about a Calm that only lasts ten years. If I'm going to sacrifice people, I intend for it to be permanent."

Rikku relaxed a bit and said, "Finally, a summoner with sense," which made Harry chuckle.

Tidus shook his head. "Hey, uhm, not to sound dumb or anything, but... What's a summoner? And the Calm?"

Rikku looked at the boy like he was mad, then turned to Harry, who mouthed 'toxins' at her. She nodded slowly in understanding.

"Hey!" Tidus snapped, looking disgruntled.

Harry chuckled. "A summoner visits temples around Spira and collects aeons from the fayth. They use these aeons in battles against fiends, though the true intent for them is to use the aeons to defeat Sin, bringing about what is known as the Calm, which lasts for ten years."

Tidus eyed him curiously. "And... Summoners die?"

Harry sighed, eyes darkening at the memory of his own fight with aeons. "A summoner's pilgrimage ends when they collect the final aeon. That aeon is actually the soul of one of the summoner's guardians. The summoner uses that aeon to defeat Sin, getting both themselves and the guardian used for the final aeon killed." He shrugged and said. "Well, the final aeon isn't really _killed_ , per say. Rather, it becomes part of Sin until the next summoner comes and kills it, leaving room for their aeon."

Rikku covered her mouth with one hand in shock, while Tidus looked ill. "The guardian... lives on inside Sin?" the Al Bhed girl asked.

Harry winced. He didn't suppose that was common knowledge. "Yeah."

"So that guardian is attacking..." Rikku was shaking her head in horror.

Tidus lurched to his feet and walked back over to the railing. "Why do the summoners do it, then?" he demanded, turning to look accusingly at Harry.

Harry shrugged. "I assume it's because it's made better knowing your loved ones are safe for ten years because of your sacrifice. Even if you then turn around and destroy them when that time is up."

Before anything more could be said, the ship lurched as a large wave rose up on the port-side.

The door behind Rikku slammed open and the man that came dashing out shouted, "SIN!"

The ship dipped madly again and Harry grabbed onto the railing next to him. Rikku squeaked and grabbed the end of his staff to keep from sliding across the deck.

Tidus, however, had been standing next to the railing, and one more wave knocked him over the edge.

"TIDUS!"

-0-0-0-

Once Sin had left, Harry and Rikku both dashed overboard to see if they could find Tidus in the water around the ship. Both knew there was little chance he would have survived the angry beast, but they both needed to check.

When they came up empty-handed, the other Al Bhed just shook their heads and went back into the innards of the ship.

Rikku stayed out on the deck with Harry for a while as he stared out over the sea, feeling helpless. When she left, the young man whispered, "I'm cursed to lose everyone."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to change the story just enough to keep people interested. I know reading the entire plot line of the game word-for-word can get really tedious after a while, so I'll do my best.
> 
> I had hoped to make this chapter a bit longer, but that was a good place to stop. (Then again, considering how short the conversation between Tidus and Rikku in the game was, it could have been worse. XD)
> 
> Next chapter, a bit from Tidus' perspective. And, yes, the boys'll meet up again, never fear. After all, the pairing _is_ Harry/Tidus. XD  
>  Oh, and that pairing will take a bit to form. I must admit to being a bit irritated with other fics of this fandom that always have them start being attracted to each other practically right off the bat. This Harry's a bit too jaded for that, and I can't see Tidus falling for some guy when he's just met him. They've got an entire pilgrimage to figure things out. XP


	3. Besaid & Kilika

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, as a warning for anyone who hasn't finished the game: This fic will contain some **SERIOUS SPOILERS**. Not this chapter, but within the next few, especially about Yevon and Sin. Harry's a bit free with the truth.
> 
> Oh! And I had a couple of enquiries about Harry's aeon form. *smug grin* You'll find out when you find out. And, no, I'm not giving any hints. But it WILL be a while before it shows up. *mad cackle*

"Harry!" Tidus jerked out of the water and desperately looked around for the boat he'd been on. Instead, there was an island, and something coming at his head.

Tidus grabbed the ball, recognising what it was in relief. "Blitzball."

"Hey! You okay!" a man on the beach shouted.

Tidus grinned and eyed the ball in his hands. Feeling a bit mischievous, he ducked down under the water, then kicked the ball back to the beach, nearly cackling when it went right over the players' heads and disappeared further inland.

He swam into shore, looking pleased with the wide-eyed stares he was receiving. "Hiya!"

The man who'd called out to him shook his head, awed. "You're no amateur! Who you play for?"

Tidus opened his mouth to respond with the name of his team when Harry's voice came back to him: _"Tidus, Zanarkand has been destroyed for almost one thousand years now – there's nothing for you to go back to."_ The name died on his tongue and he snapped his mouth shut.

The man blinked at him. "You okay?"

Tidus nodded, not feeling okay. "Yeah, sorry. I can't remember the name of my team." He tried to smile, but it felt more like a grimace.

The man nodded and set a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm Wakka, coach and captain of the Besaid Aurochs, brudda." He motioned behind him at the other guys standing around. Then he seemed to realise that they weren't doing anything _but_ standing around and turned to snap them back to practise.

Tidus closed his eyes, feeling tired. He realised, with a start, that he was also worried for Harry and Rikku. He opened his eyes again to find Wakka watching him with concern, so he asked, "No one else has washed up here, right? 'Cause, I was with a couple of people and Sin attacked our boat and..." he trailed off, seeing the pitying look on Wakka's face.

"I'm sorry," he said again.

Tidus looked away, feeling sick. He was just getting to know Harry and Rikku, and learn things about this world, and suddenly he was without anyone. Talk about culture shock.

"Hey, you don't look too good. Let's get you to the village, ya?" Wakka suggested.

Tidus nodded numbly and followed the red-head to his village. There, the other man let him borrow his bed, and Tidus fell into dreams about Zanarkand.

-0-0-0-

When Tidus woke back up, the sun was setting, and Wakka was nowhere in sight. He decided to get up and take a look around the village. He ended up in the Crusaders' tent and asked about what they did, as well as got to know a bit more about the general population of Spira. He also found out more about Sin, like the toxin it supposedly spouted which made people lose their minds a bit. That explained why people were willing to answer questions that he probably should have known, had he grown up in Spira.

Of course, thinking about Sin meant thinking about Harry and Rikku, which made Tidus feel sick again. He left the Crusaders and took to walking around the village a bit more, thinking about his lost companions.

He liked Rikku, he decided. She'd been a lot of fun, after they got past the whole language barrier. And she'd brought food, which, admittedly, hadn't been as important after Harry had created some, but... It was the thought that counted. And she'd been just as disturbed as he had been by the whole guardian-as-Sin thing, thought she'd seemed almost more horrified, perhaps because she'd lived with Sin longer?

And then there was Harry. The young man had seemed so much older than he'd looked, and so tired. Tidus had wondered how one person could carry so much pain in their eyes and still be able to smile and joke about their clothing. And even though he'd said that pile of rubble had been his home, he'd been so much more knowledgeable about Spira. And yet...

"Hey! There you are!" Wakka called, breaking Tidus from his musings.

Tidus glanced over at where the other blitzball player's voice had come from. Wakka stood with a few other people, including a young woman who had a staff almost exactly like Harry's, and Tidus felt almost like he might cry, but forced the tears down and walked over to the group, trying a smile. "Hey, Wakka."

Wakka grinned at him. "This here's Tidus," the red-head said to his fellows, leaving Tidus wondering when the other had learned his name, "he washed up on the beach today. He's a real good blitzball player, ya?"

Tidus shrugged, uncomfortable.

"This is Lulu, Kimahri and Yuna. Yuna's just made Summoner. She's gonna to summon her first aeon," Wakka told Tidus, looking like a proud father.

For his part, Tidus tried to keep the sick feeling in his stomach from showing on his face. Yuna was a summoner? Was she planning to go sacrifice herself to destroy Sin?

Wakka dragged him forward to watch Yuna summon. He had to admit that it was beautiful, but the knowledge of what her pilgrimage meant made the beautiful sight into a horrible nightmare.

While everyone was congratulating Yuna on her summon, Wakka dragged Tidus to one side and asked about playing for his team in Luca, "A major blitz tournament's coming up. All the teams in Spira'll be there! It's so huge, I'm sure someone there will recognize you! Then you can go back to your old team, right? It'll be fun! What do you say, huh? Come on, come on!"

"Sure," Tidus agreed. Maybe playing blitzball was his best choice for life in Spira. If he couldn't go home to Zanarkand, at least he could continue playing the sport he loved.

"Dude! Our team is gonna rock!" Wakka enthused.

Tidus smiled and let himself be dragged over to the Aurochs. Talking with them, he realised that they needed a new motto, and happily got them fired up with a new one.

By the time the team was cheering their need for victory without his help, the summoner had walked closer and was watching him. Shrugging, he walked over to her. "Yuna, right?" he asked.

The girl smiled. "Yes. And you're Tidus?"

Tidus nodded.

"It looks like you're going to play with them in Luca," she commented, nodding to the Aurochs.

Tidus nodded again. "Wakka asked, and..." He looked away. "Well, my blitzball team is gone. So are my only real friends." He looked back at her and frowned at the pity on her face. "At least, I think they're gone," he said, hope blossoming in his chest, "but Harry's a summoner, so they might be okay..."

Yuna smiled again. "That's wonderful! I hope you can find them again."

Tidus smiled. "Yeah. Maybe we'll meet up in Luca. I mean, I never told them about my liking blitzball, but if there's going to be a tournament, they might be there. Rikku especially – she seemed the type to like the game."

Yuna chewed on her lip briefly, then asked, "This Summoner Harry, is he any good?"

Tidus shrugged. "Don't know. He'd lost his...focus? Yeah, he'd lost it when we first met. The Al Bhed gave him another one, but I didn't see him do any summonings. He was good with his magic, though. I know that much." He smiled at her, and got a nervous smile in response. "Why?"

Yuna shrugged. "Just wondering."

He nodded, not really caring all that much about why she'd been asking about Harry. He was feeling far too good about the knowledge that Harry might very well still be alive.

Yuna got pulled away by a small child, and Tidus found himself face-to-face with Wakka. The older man was looking at him suspiciously, so Tidus asked, "Something on my face?"

Wakka walked over to him and slung an arm around his shoulders, turning so they were looking at Yuna again. "She's cute, ya?"

Tidus considered the summoner. He supposed she was cute, in a naive, not well-travelled sort of way. Tidus had to admit that he'd probably been much the same as her only yesterday, but after everything Harry had told him, he felt so much older, so much more mature. And, in that way, the girl just wasn't attractive. "I suppose she is," he finally told Wakka. "Why?"

Wakka narrowed his eyes. "Don't get no ideas."

Tidus quirked a smile. "I sincerely doubt that would happen, Wakka."

Wakka just frowned a bit more, then shrugged and said, "If you get tired, let me know. I had a bed made for you."

Tidus considered the circle around the fire, then nodded and had Wakka show him to where the bed was for him. He wasn't really all that tired, but it had seemed a bit awkward standing near so many people that knew each other, and yet no one knew him.

-0-0-0-

_Tidus was walking up the dock to where Yuna was waiting. "Where's the boat?"_

_"Everyone will find us if it doesn't come soon," Yuna replied, turning to look at him._

_"You really sure this is okay?"_

_"Would you take me to Zanarkand?"_

_Tidus jerked. What did she know about Zanarkand?_

_"Hey!" Rikku called, hurrying up near them._

_"Rikku!" Tidus called, happy to see her._

_"You said you'd go with me!" the Al Bhed said._

_"What? I didn't..."_

_"I thought Wakka told you not to get any ideas."_

_"He did?" Yuna asked._

_"Yeah! So you're coming with me!"_

_"But I don't–"_

_"Hey! Stop dreaming!" an all too familiar voice called from the beach. Tidus turned to see his father and glared. "You? With a woman? You can't even catch a ball! Oh, what's the matter? Gonna cry again? Cry, cry. That's the only thing you're good for!"_

_Suddenly, Tidus realised he was a kid again, and his hands were covering his eyes. Was he really crying? Here? Now?_

_Arms wrapped around him and he buried his face in a surprisingly young chest. "Sometimes," Harry whispered, and Tidus looked up to see tears in the others' eyes, "it's okay to cry. Sometimes, it's the only way to make it through a hard day."_

_Tidus looked back at where his father had stood and realised the man was gone. When he looked back at Harry, he realised he was the right age again and they were standing. "Thank you," he said._

_Harry smiled at him with those painfully old eyes and said, "That's what I'm here for."_

-0-0-0-

Tidus sat up in the bed and reached up to touch his cheeks. He scowled, realising he'd been crying for real and brushed the tears away. No matter what dream Harry said, Tidus was _not_ going to cry. Not about anything.

Voices filtered in through the opening of the tent and he got up to see what was going on. Outside was the woman, Lulu, and Wakka. They seemed to be arguing about someone named Chappu, and maybe about him, Tidus?

Tidus realised he didn't really care what they were talking about and went back to bed, hoping he wouldn't have any more strange dreams with dead men, girls, and himself as a kid.

Strangely, Tidus realised, he didn't mind if he had another dream with Harry in it.

-0-0-0-

The next morning, Tidus was up before anyone else in the village. At least, he was as far as he could tell. He considered waiting around the camp-fire for Wakka or one of the others, but decided it wasn't worth it. He knew the way to the docks, so he could just go on ahead, alone.

"No more asking if Yuna's cute or the girl asking me about Harry... Or Zanarkand..." Tidus shook the dream from last night from his head. "Yeesh." He rolled his eyes at himself and started out on the road to the docks. He ran into a few fiends on the way there, but there was nothing he couldn't handle – or at least run from – much to his relief, and he got to the docks tired, but relatively unharmed.

When Yuna, Wakka and the other two showed up, Tidus was already relaxing down in the room the team had been shunted off to, considering taking a nap. He might have been worried about how much he'd been sleeping, but it had been an exhausting couple of days, and fighting fiends was no mean feat.

When the boat finally got moving, one of the Aurochs started getting seasick, so Tidus decided he would be better off trying to take a nap up on deck.

Of course, once he got up on deck, Wakka cornered him and he ended up talking about their itinerary. Tidus honestly didn't care if they were making a side-stop so Yuna could go pray. Nor did he really think praying for the Aurochs' victory was going to do them any good. As far as Tidus was concerned, you won blitzball because your team was good, not because of some holy order.

He did manage to get away before Wakka could rope him into anything else, luckily enough, and found himself a reasonably comfortable position on the top deck, under an umbrella.

He was pulled from pleasant dreams about winning a blitzball tournament in Zanarkand by a jerk that reminded him _far_ too much of the last time he'd been on a boat.

When he looked over the edge of the upper deck, he saw Sin and almost groaned. "If this keeps up," he complained to himself, "I'm going to have to start avoiding boats."

He jumped down the stairs onto the main deck as the two men at the front fired their harpoons, having a feeling that this wasn't going to end well.

As soon as one of the harpoons connected, the ship jerked and got pulled along even faster than before, and a few people had to grab for support.

Then the Sinscales hit the deck, and everything went to hell as they started attacking everyone on board. Tidus jumped forward, blocking a hit from one that was aiming at one of the Aurochs that were standing on deck. "Get below!" he snapped at them, taking a swipe at the fiend.

Wakka and Lulu took on the fin sticking out of the water while Kimahri and Tidus kept the deck from getting too crowded, and Yuna kept mumbling the Cure spell to keep them on their feet.

It seemed like forever before Sin finally put enough strain on the harpoon to pull the whole thing loose and it shot towards Kilika.

From afar, they watched as Sin completely devastated Kilika.

Tidus thought he might finally understand why summoners and their guardians would sacrifice their lives to knock Sin back for ten years.

-0-0-0-

When they got into Kilika, it was to tears and a ruined village. Yuna hurried off the ship and stopped next to a gentleman who appeared to be a town elder. "Greetings," she said, "I'm Summoner Yuna from Besaid. If there's no other Summoner here, I would like to do the sending."

"Sending?" Tidus asked of no one in particular.

The old man shook his head with a sad smile. "A Summoner was here visiting during the tragedy, Lady Summoner, and he is already preparing. But we thank you for your kindness."

"He?" Tidus whispered, then hurried down the dock, hoping...

When Tidus came upon the spot they were doing the sending, he had to stop and take a deep breath. There danced Harry, atop a pillar of water and surrounded by pyreflies. Tidus couldn't do much more than stare at the dance; somehow, Harry danced it with all the sorrow of the people who were watching, and yet, he radiated a strange sort of calm, which soothed the crowd, even as they sobbed.

When Harry finished his dance, Tidus shook himself and quickly moved forward, through the crowd, to where a familiar blonde stood with Harry's shoes. "Rikku..."

Rikku turned, then let out a cry of delight and ran forward to hug Tidus. "You're okay! We thought for sure..." She trailed off and pulled away so she could look at him, tears in her eyes. "We were so _worried_..."

Tidus smiled at her, then looked over her shoulder at where Harry stood, watching them with the saddest smile. "Hey."

Harry slowly moved forward and took his boots from Rikku. "I'm glad you're okay."

Tidus nodded. "Me too. After I washed up on Besaid, I realised that you might not survive. Either of you," he added, looking at Rikku to include her in his statement. "But then I remembered that Harry's a summoner, and I figured if anyone could survive Sin, it would be a summoner..." He trailed off and shrugged.

Harry smiled then, and shook his head. "Well, we managed, somehow."

"Tidus!" Wakka's voice called over the dwindling crowd.

Tidus looked back over his shoulder and waved Wakka and Yuna and their group over, smiling. When they got close enough, he said, "Wakka, these are the friends I was telling you about. They managed to survive Sin, after all."

"That's wonderful," Yuna softly interrupted. "I'm Summoner Yuna."

Harry inclined his head. "Summoner Harry," he replied, then motioned to Rikku. "And this is Rikku. Don't know that I'd call her a guardian, per say, but she's been very difficult to shake." Rikku smiled rather smugly, at that.

"This is Wakka, Lulu and Kimahri," Yuna replied in kind. "They're my guardians. My family."

Harry's smile was sad, even as he said, "Well met."

Lulu cleared her throat. "It's getting late," she said. "If we're going to the temple, Yuna, we should wait until tomorrow."

Harry cocked and eyebrow. "You as well, then?" he asked, somewhat rhetorically. "I had intended to go earlier this afternoon, as soon as we docked, but then Sin attacked..." He shrugged, eyes darkening at the mention of the beast.

"Perhaps we could go together?" Yuna suggested, looking at everyone hopefully.

Harry shrugged. "I don't see why not," he agreed. "It's far too late to go tonight, especially if we don't intend to sleep in the temple. If we both have to go tomorrow, we might as well go together." He eyed the girl's guardians, waiting for their judgement. Shortly, they nodded, so the two groups headed for the inn together.

Once everyone had gotten rooms – the guys got to double, while the three girls agreed to share one room together – they all settled in for the night. In the girls' room, Yuna and Rikku found out they were cousins, while Lulu cautioned the Al Bhed against letting Wakka find out about her lineage. Wakka and Kimahri's room was silent, largely due to the fact that the Ronso was rather likely to throttle his fellow guardian if the human spoke.

In Tidus and Harry's room, the two young men caught up. Tidus told Harry all about his time in Besaid, smiling in memory at his own moments of gloom over the chance that the Al Bhed ship might not have made it. Harry, in return, told him about the, admittedly, rather boring trip to Kilika, which took longer than Harry would have liked because the Al Bhed were so determined to dig up that airship. Tidus had been a bit shocked to find out that he'd been floating in the ocean for almost three days, rather than just the one he'd thought it had been.

"Luckily enough," Harry was saying, "Sin's arrival managed to jar it loose a bit more than it had been, so getting it up, out of the water wasn't as hard as it might have been. Then they had to try and get into the bloody thing, so they could drag it off to wherever they're intending to take it for whatever dirty work they're up to now."

Tidus laughed at the summoner's description, glad to be back in his presence. It was almost strange, how Tidus felt so comfortable around Harry, but he figured it had something to do with the air of does-not-belong that the summoner had. Since Tidus, himself, felt so out of place in this future, he liked knowing he wasn't alone.

"So, I think I've pretty much mastered Al Bhed," Harry commented.

"Eh?! So fast?" Tidus complained, jerking his head around to stare at the other male.

Harry chuckled. "I may have cheated a bit. There's a spell that allows you to more quickly assimilate a new language, so I used it on myself to learn Al Bhed. I figured it was probably a good idea, so Rikku didn't have to translate for me _all_ the time."

Tidus snorted. "I suppose that's a good point." He glanced over at Harry again with a grin. "I don't suppose you could use it on me?"

Harry smiled and asked, "So you can learn Al Bhed while no one around you speaks it? Or so that you might have a better chance to understand this world?"

Tidus groaned. "Oh, hell. Can you really do that?"

Harry chuckled. "I'm afraid not. It would be nice, though."

"Hey! You already understand them!"

Harry fell silent and stared at the ceiling for a long moment, making Tidus wish he could take his words back. Finally, Harry said, "Just because I know of their customs doesn't mean I understand them, Tidus."

"Sorry..."

Harry shook his head and smiled at the other. "It doesn't matter. Come, we have to traverse that bloody forest tomorrow, and _I_ , at least, would like to do it on a full night's sleep."

Tidus nodded and they both wiggled in their beds to get more comfortable.

After about ten minutes, Tidus whispered, "Harry?"

"Mmm?" the summoner sleepily mumbled back.

"I'm glad you're here."

Harry smiled sleepily at the wall. "Glad you're here too. Go to sleep."

Tidus snickered.

-0-0-0-

The next morning, they all met up in the forest. Harry cocked an eyebrow when he saw that Rikku was wearing goggles, and the girl shrugged. As the group started off into the forest, she fell back and said, "Apparently one of Yunie's guardians really hates Al Bhed. So I decided to wear my goggles."

"Yunie?" Tidus repeated, somewhat disbelieving.

Rikku grinned at him. "We're cousins."

"Dear Merlin," Harry muttered, shaking his head.

Rikku turned her grin on him.

They managed to get through the forest with little trouble. When they got to the steps of the temple, Wakka happily told them all about High Summoner Ohalland, and Rikku leaned over to ask Tidus, "Think I should pray for _my_ team?"

"What, you're rooting for someone other than me?" Tidus replied, managing a hurt look.

Rikku blinked at him a few times, then shook her head. "Race you to the top?"

Tidus' eyes danced. "You're on," he replied, and the two dashed up the stairs while Wakka was still going on about the stairs.

At the top, Tidus and Rikku skidded to a halt, staring at the Sinspawn that had crashed down. "Oh, shit," Tidus grumbled, pulling out his sword.

"SINSPAWN!" Rikku shouted down the stairs, then took up a position next to him, bouncing on her feet. "What are the chances of us beating this alone?" she cheerfully asked.

Tidus rolled his eyes. "Next to nothing."

Much to their relief, the rest of their group came up quickly behind them and pulled their own weapons out. With the added help, Rikku fell back next to Yuna to play healer.

They managed to work as a team pretty well, Tidus was surprised to realise. Yuna and Rikku managed the healing, while Lulu and Harry shot out spells and Tidus helped Kimahri and Wakka in getting up close and personal with the fiend.

However, even with their teamwork, they ended up getting a little too tired, too fast for their comfort. So Yuna ended up calling her aeon to finish it off, giving everyone a break.

Before Valefor went back to wherever she'd come from, she turned and looked at Harry.

"Luna?" the young man whispered, eyes wide.

Valefor made an odd cooing noise, then disappeared.

Tidus and Rikku both rushed forward as Harry sunk to his knees, looking like someone had just kicked him in the nuts. "Harry!"

Harry gripped at his two friends' shirts while the rest of the party gathered around, looking worried. "I'm fine," he whispered. "Fine."

Tidus and Rikku traded looks – the summoner most certainly was _not_ fine – but Harry was already pulling himself to his feet.

"You don't need to rest?" Yuna asked, head poking over Rikku's shoulder worriedly.

Harry shook his head and let go of Rikku's shirt. He almost let go of Tidus' shirt, but the boy was gripping his wrist almost warningly and he didn't dare. Instead, he nodded towards the stairs and they continued on their way, Tidus subtly providing support Harry was _sure_ he didn't need.

Up in the temple, Wakka knelt in prayer and Tidus just barely refrained from rolling his eyes. Next to him, Harry sighed.

A man and a woman came out of the back room of the temple and stopped in front of Yuna. The woman had a superior look on her face when Yuna introduced herself, while the man looked kind of dull. The woman introduced herself as Dona, then mocked Yuna for her large number of guardians.

"Actually," Rikku piped up, "We're not _all_ Yunie's guardians."

Dona turned to the Al Bhed with a frown. "No? You're her disciples, then?" she inquired rather sarcastically.

Rikku crossed her arms over her chest and said, "No, we're _Harry's_ guardians." Then she nodded to where Harry and Tidus stood in the back of the group.

Harry eyed the woman, then turned away from her, as though she was beneath him. Instead, he looked at Yuna and asked, "Would you like to go first, Lady Yuna?"

Yuna wasn't the only one who blinked at the formal tone, which Harry had never used before, nor was she the only one to smile. She glanced at Wakka, who was still praying, and said, "Why don't you three go first? It looks like Wakka could use a moment to himself."

"Only a moment?" Rikku replied brightly, skipping up the steps.

Tidus' eyes flickered to where Dona still stood, watching them with anger burning in her eyes, and tried not to be too obvious about helping Harry up the stairs.

"I'm fine, Tidus," Harry murmured out of the corner of his mouth.

"I'll believe that when I know why you had that fainting spell."

"I didn't _faint_!"

Rikku rolled her eyes at the two men as they got onto the lift with her and it jerked into movement. "If you didn't faint," the girl said, "then what _did_ you do?"

Harry huffed and looked between the two as if trying to decide if he could trust them or not.

They'd all stepped off the platform and headed into the Cloister of Trials before Harry spoke again. "Tidus already sort of knows this, I think..." He trailed off and glanced at the young man.

Tidus glanced at him as Rikku turned around to look at them, Kilika Sphere in hand. "You said your home was gone too," he said softly. "That it had been those ruins Rikku found us in."

Rikku's eyes widened marginally. "Wait, according to our records, those ruins are even older than Zanarkand."

Harry smiled sadly and closed his eyes. "Almost five thousand years old," he agreed.

"Wait!" Tidus stopped and demanded, "You can't be five thousand years old."

Harry snorted. "Yes, and no." He ran a hand through his hair, looking harassed. "You remember what I said about the fayth?"

Tidus considered back to his time on the Al Bhed boat and nodded slowly. "You said... Summoners get the aeons from them?"

Harry nodded. "I was a fayth," he said, wincing at how blunt it had sounded.

"How can you have been a fayth?" Rikku demanded. "They're stone and–"

"Fayth become such by sacrificing themselves as part of a magic ritual," Harry interrupted, taking the sphere from her hand and continuing into the Trials with it, leaving them to follow him. "In my home world, there was a man who decided to destroy everything, except for those he considered his 'faithful'. He was what we called a squib, someone born to a magical family, but with no magic themselves.

"This man managed what no other human at the time had: he created weapons that ran on both electricity and magic." Harry glanced back at the two open-mouthed teens. "The technology in your world, Tidus, was a mix of magic and machine. We'd never seen it before. The muggles, those without magic, couldn't begin to understand the magical aspects, because our society had hidden from them, and the things were rigged to die if someone with magic got close enough to reprogram it."

Harry sighed and popped in the Destruction Sphere, flinching back slightly as the wall exploded. He grabbed the item in the box, then turned to his two fellows and leaned against the wall. "My home was constantly under attack, and we had no way to face him down. It was just me and five of my friends – we were still kids at the time – and we'd just finished another war, which didn't help matters. We were all breaking under the stress of constantly running, when Hermione found a book about summoning. The art had been lost to the ages, and it was by chance we found out about it at all.

"I came across the last of the old fayths, and she told me everything I needed to know about fayths and summoners. Three of my friends sacrificed themselves to become fayth, and Ron, Hermione and I went to face the wanker down. We won, but Ron and Hermione died."

"You sacrificed yourself..." Tidus whispered as the two teens began to understand.

Harry nodded shortly. "There was nothing left to live for. All my friends and family were either dead, or already fayths. So I joined them." He turned and headed for the door to the chamber, absently summoning the last Kilika Sphere.

"I can accept that," Rikku decided, then muttered, "I think."

Harry paused just before putting the sphere in. "But?"

Rikku waved her hands around. "Why are you _here_?"

Harry sighed. "I don't know. I wish I did, but I don't. There's never been a record of a fayth coming back to this world before – it simply isn't done. _Certainly_ not after thousands of years."

"Maybe there's something you need to do?" Tidus suggested softly.

Harry nodded. "I'm hoping Ifrit will be able to tell me," he said, jerking his thumb towards the door behind him. "Because if not, I don't know what to do. Maybe I'll become a fayth again." He smiled a little bitterly.

"So, wait, Valefor was one of your friends?" Rikku asked.

Harry nodded again. "Valefor is Luna. I almost want to go to Besaid and get her..."

"But, didn't you already have her once?" Rikku said.

Harry shrugged. "Yes. But she's not here," he said, pointing at his head. "I don't know. A part of me didn't expect to see her. _Certainly_ not with Yuna. Not if I couldn't feel her myself."

"So, do you even _have_ an aeon? Or are you a summoner without anything to summon?" Tidus asked.

Harry grinned. "I have _my_ aeon," he informed the two, then turned and finally put the sphere in the door, then took it back out again.

The teens sighed and followed the summoner into the chamber, pausing when he stopped in front of the only other door.

"Neither of you have played guardian before, am I right?" Harry asked, though he was pretty sure he already knew the answer. When both shook their heads, he nodded. "Okay, here's the quick run-through, because the _last_ thing I want to put up with is some uppity priest of Yevon making sure you two know your places." The teens nodded again. "Right! Your main duty is to protect me. From fiends or Sin or friends or, Merlin forbid, myself. Pretty easy. Next, you follow me into the temples, helping with the Trials when it's needed." He shrugged. "I'm okay at puzzles – there wasn't a lot to do some days – but I might need a little extra strength. You may have noticed, I have no muscles." He grinned, holding up his arms like a body-builder would have done.

Tidus and Rikku snorted. "Is that it?" the young man asked.

Harry tapped his chin. "Mmmm... Oh! Yeah, you're not allowed in the inner sanctum," he said, waving at the room behind him. "Or, well, according to Yevon you're not. According to the fayth..." He shrugged. "They don't give a damn. So! If you want to come in with me, feel free. Though, I must warn you, it's dead boring. Because all it really is is sitting there, staring at the crystal holding the fayth's body."

Tidus and Rikku traded looks for a moment before both stepping forward. "We'll go in with you," Tidus said.

"The better to protect you," Rikku agreed.

Harry rolled his eyes and waved them in behind him. As soon as he'd kneeled on the opposite side of the crystal from the door, it slid shut, leaving them with only the faint light of the fayth's crystal. Tidus and Rikku traded disquieted looks from either side of the closed door, but didn't say anything.

Harry sat in complete silence for a few minutes, trying to find that same bond he'd shared with the other fayth for thousands of years. Eventually, he reminded himself that he _wasn't_ a fayth any more, he was human, which meant he needed to search out the link the fayth shared with a summoner.

Almost as soon as Harry changed his tactic, a ghostly form appeared above the crystal, leaving the two teens wide-eyed and staring. The man on top of the stone cleared his throat and Harry's eyes snapped open. When he recognised the fayth, he smiled sheepishly and said, "Alexander."

The man rose an eyebrow at Harry. "We'd wondered what had happened to you." He glanced back at the two teens standing inside the chamber and turned back to Harry with a knowing smile. "Breaking the rules of Yevon, now?"

"Yevon can go bugger his mum," Harry swore darkly, making the teens gasp and the ghost let out a rasping laugh. Then his eyes softened and he asked, "You have no clue why I here? Any of you?"

Alexander shook his head. "I'm sorry, Harry. All we know is that, one minute you were there, the next you had vanished. We were beginning to think your crystal had shattered."

Harry shuddered at the thought. "No. I'm just playing a summoner for some un-godly reason."

Alexander chuckled and shook his head. "Well, for as long as you 'play summoner', you know we will help you."

Harry nodded and closed his eyes as he felt Alexander join with him as the aeon Ifrit. After a moment, he opened his eyes again. "Is Luna...?"

Alexander seemed to anticipate his question, for as soon as Harry said the girl's name, a ghostly form of a small girl appeared next to the fire fayth. "Hello, Harry."

Harry smiled at the girl. "Luna."

"You gave Valefor quite the scare," Luna admonished him.

Harry grimaced. "She gave _me_ quite the scare."

Luna huffed and crossed her arms in front of her childishly.

Harry laughed, thousands of years seeming to fade away from his eyes and brightening them. "Luna, my sweet almost-sister, would you let me borrow Valefor?"

Luna considered him for a long moment, then nodded. "Yes, I suppose. But you must _promise_ not to scare her again!"

"You have my word," Harry promised.

Luna eyed him for a long moment then, apparently satisfied, nodded.

Harry closed his eyes as he felt Valefor enter him and settle in the part of his mind reserved for the aeons.

And then, as the two ghostly forms disappeared, Harry fell forward, completely exhausted. Tidus and Rikku dashed forward to catch the summoner before he hit his head, and they mostly managed it.

"Harry?" Rikku whispered, voice shaking, as Tidus carefully lifted the older man into his arms.

Ifrit's fayth reappeared when Harry didn't stir. "Humans aren't meant to take on two aeons within twenty-four hours. He'll be fine, he just needs to sleep it off. I would suggest letting him rest in one of the side rooms the monks keep until he's well enough. You won't make it back to Kilika if you have to carry him."

"We're travelling with a larger group, with another summoner," Rikku said. "We'll probably be fine with them, but Yunie has to come visit you first."

"The room's a good idea," Tidus mumbled, then nodded to the fayth. "Thank you."

Alexander smiled at the two teens. "Take care of him," he told them before disappearing again and opening the door behind them so they could leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple of people asked about the bad guy running around after Voldemort? Above is about as much of his story as I ever made up. Shara jokingly suggested he was Filch, but I, honestly, never gave him a name. Sorry?


	4. Luca

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since at least two people in the party understand Al Bhed, I'll be translating any that's said from here-on out, assuming either Harry or Rikku is with the group that hears it spoken. (Tidus will, eventually, learn – if only because he wants to and he'll be travelling with an Al Bhed.) All Al Bhed, translated or otherwise, will be in bold. If it's not translated, I _might_ be willing to translate it at the bottom of the chapter. (But, there are PLENTY of Al Bhed translators on the web, so you could always go use one of them. 'S what I do sometimes. XD)

Dona and her muscle-boy had left by the time Tidus and Rikku re-emerged with Harry. Yuna ran forward as soon as she saw them coming out, asking, "Is he okay?"

"He's just over-extended himself," Rikku said.

"We're going to take him to one of the temple rooms so he can rest while you're in there," Tidus said, offering the female summoner a small smile. "Come get us before you leave?"

Yuna nodded and smiled back. "We will."

"Good luck, Yunie," Rikku offered.

"Thank you," Yuna replied.

Rikku and Tidus stepped back to let the other summoner and her party by. As the group stepped on to the platform, a monk came forward, saying, "You would like a place to rest your Summoner?"

"We would," Rikku agreed.

"Follow me," the monk replied with a small bow.

Once they had been led to the room, the monk left after another small bow, this time accompanied by a sign Tidus recognised all too well. Once the man was gone, he turned to Rikku and asked, "Why did he make the blitzball sign for victory?"

"What?" Rikku said, looking confused.

"This," Tidus said, performing the motions. "It's the blitzball sign for victory."

Rikku blinked a few times and shook her head. "Don't tell me you're from another time like Harry," she said drily.

Tidus smiled ruefully and scratched the back of his head, nodding.

Rikku groaned and hid her face in her hands.

The two were silent for a long moment before Rikku finally asked, "Okay. So, what's your story?"

Tidus' faint smile faded. "I'm from Zanarkand. I was in the middle of a blitzball game when Sin came and destroyed everything. I woke in those ruins with Harry."

Rikku watched him for a long moment, then said, "Zanarkand, huh? Well, it's about as believable as Harry's story, and since he had the fayth to back him up..."

"You saying you don't believe me?!"

Rikku snickered and shook her head. "No, no. Just... Look, it _does_ explain some of your questions. Like, when you were asking about summoners and stuff on the boat? And that 'blitzball sign for victory' is a holy symbol. Some sort of prayer."

Tidus blinked and let that all sink in, then said, "Your people don't believe in Yevon, right?"

Rikku shook her head. "No. Well, some Al Bhed do, but my family doesn't. Yevon says using machina is forbidden and, considering what Harry said about how horrible the first machina was, I'm almost willing to understand why, but my people have always believed that sacrificing summoners isn't the way to defeat Sin. Not if he's going to come back after ten years. We figure, if machina is forbidden, maybe it's what we need to use to defeat Sin. But so much has been lost..." She bit her lip.

Tidus scratched the back of his head. "Well, I don't know a lot about how to use machina, but maybe I can help? I mean, I lived in a time when it was used, right?"

Rikku smiled at that. "I think we've figured a lot out, since we've been at it for so long. It's just... not easy. Because we can usually figure the stuff out, but we have to find it first, and then we have to tinker with it. And if it was run on magic, like Harry said, we have to find a mage who can power it back up again." She shrugged. "Al Bhed magic-users are few and far between. Harry was actually an asset when we pulled that airship up, since he was able to help us get it started."

Tidus snorted. "From what he told me last night, it sounded like he was itching to get out of there."

Rikku giggled. "That too. At one point, he got so tired of them playing with it that he stormed on board and shot a couple of weird spells at the generator. Things went a lot faster once they had power."

Tidus snickered at the mental image of Harry storming around and shooting spells off.

Rikku leaned back in her chair, a small smile on her face. "He's a little odd sometimes. But..."

"Wouldn't have it any other way?"

Rikku nodded. "Yeah."

-0-0-0-

Once Yuna had come out and the two groups had gotten back to Kilika, their boat to Luca was ready to go. Harry and Rikku procured a room for their party, separate from Yuna's group, and got Harry to one of the two beds.

"So," Rikku said as the boat pushed off from the dock, "now what?"

Tidus tugged at his hair and glanced over at the peacefully sleeping summoner. "I don't want to just leave him alone in here..."

"I can agree with that," Rikku said with a nod. "And there's only one other bed, anyway."

Tidus grimaced at that. "I'd noticed."

"Take turns sleeping and watching?" Rikku suggested.

Tidus nodded. "Sounds good. Or, at least until it's time for bed, I suppose one of us could be up on deck." He smiled without humour. "It would be rude to stay down here all night, especially when we're almost making friends with Yuna and her guardians."

Rikku cocked an eyebrow at him. "You're making friends with the Ronso? Damn..."

They both laughed.

Harry stirred on the bed and the two fell silent, watching to make sure they hadn't inadvertently woken him. When he didn't move again, they looked at each other and grinned.

"Probably best we don't stay down here together," Rikku agreed. "We might accidentally wake him up."

Tidus grimaced. "Yeah. So, do you want the first watch, or..."

Rikku shrugged. "I'll take watch down here until I get tired. Just come down whenever you're done up there, okay?"

"Yes'm!" Tidus agreed, opening the door to leave.

"And bring me food when they start serving it!" Rikku called after him.

Tidus winked in reply and made his way to the deck, hands in his pockets.

On the deck, he found some of the Luca Goers bothering the Aurochs, so he cheerfully stepped in and had some words with the better team. To himself, he had to admit that the Goers had the better chance at winning the game than the less-than-stellar Aurochs did, but Tidus was, by no means, about to let them talk down at the Aurochs.

When dinner was served, he took some down to Rikku as promised, only to find that Harry was awake.

"Hey! You're supposed to be resting!" Tidus insisted, handing one of the trays he'd brought down to Rikku. He'd figured it might be nice for them to eat together, so they weren't eating all by themselves. Not that Tidus couldn't have gone to eat with the Aurochs, but it just seemed mean, somehow, to give Rikku food and then walk off.

Harry grimaced at Tidus. "Yeah, so I've been told, by no less than three people."

Tidus glanced at Rikku, who shrugged, then tapped her forehead. Tidus blinked, then rolled his eyes when he remembered the aeons. "Yeah, you should have listened," he said to Harry.

"I never have listened to reason well," the summoner replied drily, "and I don't intend to start now. Anyway, I refuse to sleep this entire trip away."

"I'd rather you were rested for Luca," Tidus replied with a frown. "But if you insist on being awake, at least you can eat." Then he handed the tray he'd brought for himself to Harry.

Two pairs of green eyes watched him suspiciously as Tidus took the empty chair and he cocked an eyebrow at his two companions. Harry took the invitation and asked, "Isn't this your tray?"

Tidus smiled blissfully and said, "I've already had a bit. Not really hungry any more."

Rikku caught his eye while Harry looked down at the tray with a troubled expression. When Tidus shot the girl a slightly pleading look, she nodded and said, "I'm sure he was just bringing it to keep me from eating alone, Harry."

Harry glanced between the two smiling guardians and sighed. "Oh, fine. But if I find out later that you haven't eaten anything..." he said to Tidus, who just smiled all the wider.

Once Harry had focused on his food, Rikku snuck Tidus a leg of bird off her own plate. When he blinked at her, she smiled and turned back to her tray without a word, so Tidus shrugged and ate it.

Harry glanced up suspiciously at the two teens, asking, "If you're not hungry, why are you filching her food?"

"I'm a vegetarian," Rikku commented easily.

Harry watched her suspiciously for a long moment before deciding it didn't matter. He'd never seen her eat anything to disprove her claim, so it might very well have been true. But he still had a feeling that Tidus had given Harry his food, and Rikku was helping the boy cover it up. If Harry hadn't been so hungry, he might have fought harder, but he'd been starved, and he knew that if he intended to stay awake tomorrow during the blitzball tournament, he'd best eat something now, especially if he was planning to skimp on sleep.

Eventually, Harry got to the point where he felt he could stand not eating any more and waved the rest of the food at Tidus. "Here, I'm not hungry any more."

Tidus blinked, then took the tray and cheerfully finished it off. Harry sighed as the action confirmed his suspicions, but decided not to mention anything about it. Instead, he asked, "So we're headed to Luca now?"

Tidus nodded. "Yup. Tournament's supposed to start as soon as we arrive. The Luca Goers and the, uh..." he frowned, trying to remember the name of the other team on board with them.

"The Kilika Beasts," Rikku supplied.

"Yeah! They're all on board with us. It's making for a bit of a rowdy trip." He scratched the back of his head. "The Goers are the reigning champions, and the Aurochs just plain suck, but since I've got them all excited about bringing home the cup this time, they've been starting arguments with the Goers. And the Beasts, but the Beasts lost one of their players in the attack, so they're a bit more mellow."

"Shit," Rikku mumbled. "Have they got someone to cover?"

Tidus nodded. "They had a couple of people who were sitting the bench anyway, but the one they lost was their keeper, and they don't really have anyone trained to cover the goal. Everyone figures they'll be easy pickings, even the Beasts themselves. Sounds like, usually, they're a team to be reckoned with, but with an untrained keeper, they're going to have to focus more on just keeping the ball away, rather than trusting that the goal will be guarded."

"They're gonna get so crushed," Rikku commented. "From what our team was saying last time we played them, their keeper was their biggest asset."

"Sucks to be them," Tidus decided.

Harry snorted and shook his head when the two looked at him curiously. "Sports never change, no matter when you are, do they?"

Tidus leaned forward with a grin, "Guess not. What sort of sports did they have five thousand years ago? Any blitzball?"

Harry shook his head. "No blitzball, I'm afraid. We lacked the technology. No, my people had quidditch, which is a sport played in the air on broomsticks. I played it myself, and absolutely loved it." His smile was sad as he said, "I'm afraid everything about quidditch was lost when the schools got bombed, so even if brooms that flew under their own power could be created, the sport itself is gone."

"I'm sorry," Tidus replied with feeling. Next to him, Rikku nodded. Neither of them could imagine living in a world where the sport you'd once played was impossible.

Harry shrugged. "Blitzball reminds me a bit of water polo, which is a sport the muggles played. They had all sorts of sports." He grinned. "One of my dormmates was completely in _love_ with football. It's a muggle sport where you've got a ball that you have to get into the opposing team's goal, but the goalie – the keeper – is the only player who can touch the ball with his hands. So you have to kick the ball around."

Tidus considered the sport, then grinned. "Most of the moves in blitzball don't require hands, either, so I can kinda see that. But still..."

Harry chuckled. "They'd kick the ball along the field to move it, and you could block the ball with your feet or your head or any other part of your body. Just not your hands."

"Crazy..." Tidus decided, shaking his head. "People of your time were nuts."

Harry grinned. "Yeah? I haven't told you about bludgers yet."

"Bludgers?" Rikku asked.

Harry snickered and happily regaled them with stories about his favourite sport.

-0-0-0-

The boat sailed in to Luca with a full deck. The two summoners and their parties were the first to depart, with the various teams following behind. Tidus' face tightened angrily when the announcer mocked the Aurochs, but since he agreed that the team was crap, he could hardly deny the claims.

"Maester Mika is here!" a passing man said. "Number four dock!"

Yuna's eyes brightened at the words and she said, "Let's go see!"

Tidus looked curiously at Harry, who smiled grimly. "Maesters are the men who lead the Order of Yevon," he explained to Tidus as they fell back from Yuna's group. Rikku fell back with them, looking curious. "The maesters are always made up of one human, one Ronso, one Guado, and...."

"Guado?" Tidus asked.

"I don't suppose you've seen one yet, have you?" Harry mumbled to himself.

"They have blue or green hair," Rikku said with a frown. "My people don't get on well with them."

"The Guado don't get on well with much of anyone," Harry pointed out drily.

"They're getting on better with the humans, since their last maester married one. I think their son is set up to be the next maester for the Guados," Rikku said.

"Hmmm..." Harry shrugged. "Well, as I was saying, one human, one Ronso, one Guado, and one to lead them, who is usually human. The maesters are probably the _most_ corrupt people in all of Spira, because they are supposedly 'holy' men, which means they have too much power at their fingertips and nothing to check that power."

"Fabulous," Tidus decided.

"That's what I said," Harry agreed as they reached the dock.

A blue-haired man was walking down the plank as they got there, and Tidus said, "Guado?"

Harry was frowning and shaking his head, but Rikku said, "Half. That's Maester Jyscal's son. I wonder why he's on Maester Mika's boat..."

An older man walked down off the boat and Harry's eyes narrowed at him as he calmly introduced the half-Guado, answering Rikku's half-asked question about why the man was on the boat. When the half-Guado, Seymour, started to speak, Harry's eyebrows rose and he mumbled, "He's good."

When Seymour finished his speech, the crowd bowed. Harry frowned, but bowed as well, tugging the staring Tidus down with him. When Tidus looked at him with a wounded expression, the summoner whispered, "I don't like them, but that's no reason to draw attention to ourselves. We're expected to bow in their presence. So we bow."

Tidus nodded his understanding, though he looked displeased by the notion, especially since his two companions didn't seem to care for the maesters.

Once the maesters were gone, Wakka hurried over to Tidus with the rest of the Aurochs, huge grins on all their faces. "Really psyches you up, ya?" Tidus shrugged without comment while Harry and Rikku studiously looked away. "All right!" Wakka continued, determined to be cheerful. "Last meeting before the match! Hustle!" he practically shouted, then led the way to the locker rooms.

Tidus glanced at Harry and Rikku with a worried look that had Harry rolling his eyes and Rikku grinning. "We'll be fine," the Al Bhed said, then nodded to Yuna and her other two guardians, who were approaching behind Tidus. "We'll stay with Yunie and her guardians, so you can go lose."

"Har, har," Tidus replied sarcastically, then hurried after the Aurochs, waving over his shoulder.

"Shall we go find seats?" Yuna asked with a smile. "I haven't been to a blitzball tournament since before the last Calm, when my father's guardian, Sir Jecht, insisted on taking us."

"Well, let's go, then. It should be interesting," Harry said, making Rikku grin. He'd told his two guardians last night that this would be his first blitzball game, which had earned a horrified cry from Tidus and laughter from Rikku.

The group of five made their way into the stadium and found seats in the middle, so they could properly see all the action. They spent the time before the game with Yuna talking happily to the people around them, who were all quite excited to meet the daughter of the last High Summoner. Yuna, of course, was quite happy to talk to the people, but she also took great pains to introduce Harry, who frowned at her every time and used Rikku as a shield against the overly exuberant crowd more than once.

When everyone settled down to watch the start of the games, Rikku leaned over and whispered, "Is there a reason why you're so twitchy at the attention?"

Harry grimaced and replied, "Part of the reason I became a fayth was so I didn't have to face my adoring public; I've had bad experiences in the past with them turning on me."

Rikku frowned at him and turned away, considering his words. Near the end of the first game, she decided she would have to ask Harry more about his 'adoring public' later, preferably when Tidus was there to help her corner him.

After the first set was done and the Aurochs had trounced the Al Bhed Psyches, the group agreed to go down and congratulate their friends.

On their way to the Aurochs' locker room, they came across a few of the Psyches, who looked at the group with a frown. Before Rikku could step forward to congratulate them on a game well played, one of them turned to his two teammates and said, "Summoners **. We must let the others know.** "

" **Wait!** " Rikku said, stepping forward. Yuna, Lulu and Kimahri all turned at her call, even though they hadn't understood her. The girl took her goggles off so the three Al Bhed could see she was one of them. " **I'm travelling with them to keep an eye on them. This one,** Harry **, has promised not to go after** Sin **without the means to destroy it for good.** "

The three Al Bhed scowled at her while Harry waved the rest of their group on and stepped up to stand next to Rikku. " **Neither of us intends to let the other** summoner **use the** Final Aeon," he said to them. " **I consider the practise crude and a waste of human lives. Kidnapping her won't stop her from trying to complete her mission.** "

" **A** summoner **who speaks Al Bhed?** " one of them said in surprise.

" **He spent a week on one of our ships,** " Rikku explained, though she, herself, was still confused by Harry's almost instant mastery of her language. " **Please, let us keep an eye on** Yunie. Harry **'s right about her continuing to go on her mission, even if you kidnap her. Her father was** Braska **. She considers it to be her duty to continue in his footsteps.** "

" **Then she is a fool,** " the Al Bhed who had yet to speak intoned. Harry and Rikku both nodded their agreement with that assessment. " **We will leave her to you,** Cid **'s daughter, but if you can't stop her before you reach** Mt. Gagazet **, we will do all we can in your stead.** "

Rikku nodded. " **I understand. Thank you.** "

" **A good game,** " Harry added before gently guiding Rikku back towards the locker room. "Put your goggles on before Wakka sees you."

"We'll have to tell him eventually," Rikku pointed out as she did what he'd suggested. "Especially if we're going to be going with Yunie the whole time."

Harry grimaced. "I know. But I'd rather it be on the road, rather than in close quarters. That way, if he blows up, I don't have to worry about him hitting a wall when I use a spell to knock him away." He grinned at her then, eyes bright with mischief.

Rikku snickered and preceded the summoner into the locker room, which was loud with congratulations and celebration. The two stood by the door, blinking in surprise. Tidus sidled up to them and drily commented, "This is what happens when you win your first game in twenty-some-odd years."

Harry snickered while Rikku rolled her eyes. "Ah," the summoner said, poking Tidus' side, "the joys of having an able player on your side."

Tidus grunted. "And positive thinking. Have you _heard_ their motto before I got to them?!"

"Do their best?" Rikku offered with a grin.

Tidus moaned.

Lulu walked over to them then, eyes flickering to where Yuna was keeping Wakka busy. "What happened out there?" she asked Rikku. "That didn't look like a simple 'congratulations'."

Tidus narrowed his eyes as Rikku said, "The Al Bhed have been making plans to keep summoners from finishing their pilgrimages for years now, ever since we found out that it meant the death of the summoner. I told them to let me try and talk Yunie out of it without them interfering and they agreed, but it took a bit of discussion."

"And what about Harry?" she asked, eyeing the male summoner with a frown.

"I don't intend to call the Final Aeon," Harry replied, eyes dark. "I want to find another way. Preferably one that gets rid of Sin for good. Too many people have sacrificed their lives already."

Lulu relaxed marginally. "I thought it might be something like that," she commented. "Some of the people in the stands were saying that summoners were disappearing, and the Al Bhed _do_ seem the most likely suspects..." Rikku shrugged in agreement; it was no secret that her people didn't care for Yevon's teachings, and summoners often followed those teachings. "I'll tell Yuna, then."

"Feel free to let her know we intend to find another way, too," Harry suggested. "I doubt it will make her stop, but perhaps she can help us brainstorm on the road."

Lulu blinked at him. "You intend to keep going, in spite of your belief that the Final Aeon isn't the way?"

"I believe the aeons are important in the solution, but I don't believe the Final Aeon is as much a part of it as Yevon would have us believe," Harry said with great care.

Lulu nodded and walked back over to Yuna. Tidus turned to his two friends once the woman had gotten far enough away to not hear a whispered conversation and demanded, "What do the Al Bhed do to stop the summoners? And why didn't you tell me?"

Rikku rolled her eyes while Harry sighed. "We kidnap the summoners and take them to Home to protect them," the Al Bhed girl said. "They don't usually get free, but it has happened once or twice, and I have a feeling Yunie will be one of those who will get away; part of the reason I asked them to let me do my best to stop her, first."

"And we didn't tell you because I agree with them, and so we'll probably be left alone," Harry finished.

Tidus sighed, but nodded at their reasoning. Then he seemed to realise something and demanded, "Does that mean you intend to travel with Yuna the rest of the way?"

"She's my _cousin_ , Tidus," Rikku hissed. "I'm not just going to let her go off and get herself _killed_."

"But that means travelling with _Wakka_ ," Tidus hissed back. "You can't hide your eyes from him _forever_!"

"We'll tell Wakka before it gets to that point," Harry said firmly. "And we'll do so in a place where there's lots of space, so we can keep him away from Rikku."

Tidus frowned and crossed his arms over his chest, but couldn't find anything to say that would refute the other's logic, so simply nodded and let it go.

Wakka called out, "Okay! We're up against the Goers soon! Get ready!"

"Go on," Harry said to Tidus.

"Kick them out of the sphere," Rikku added with a mean smile.

"Al Bhed keep losing against them too?" Tidus replied teasingly, then hurried out of the way of her respond kick, laughing.

Yuna, Lulu and Kimahri joined Harry and Rikku again and the five hurried back up into the stands. There, they watched with glee as the Aurochs murdered the Goers, finally winning 4-2.

Before they could do much more than stand in preparation for going down to the locker room to congratulate their team, fiends came out of nowhere and started attacking the people in the stands.

The three guardians got into a loose circle around the two summoners and set about keeping the fiends at bay. Harry was able to help by casting black magic, but Yuna found herself able to do little more than cast cure, especially in such close quarters. Rikku, seeing her cousin's distress at her inability to help made a mental note to show Yuna how to make a few concoctions to throw at the fiends while they were on the road.

While the summoners and their guardians were fighting in the stands, Tidus and Wakka teamed up to fight some fiends in the sphere, grimly fighting their way through until they reached the edge and were able to jump out into the stands to fight fiends there. Shortly, Tidus caught sight of a familiar red coat and led Wakka over to where Auron was keeping some fiends away from their spectators. "Auron!"

"Sir Auron?" Wakka repeated, shocked.

"Keep your eyes on the fiends," Auron admonished the two young guardians, casually killing something behind them.

Wakka and Tidus traded grimaces and turned back to the attacking monsters.

Up in the maesters' box, Seymour stepped forward and called an aeon to finish off the fiends.

Harry was torn between being glad for the respite, and horrified at the pain coming from the aeon; now that he had his mind open to the aeons in the correct way, he could feel them, and this one was screaming. Rikku had to reach out a hand to steady him as he almost tripped over his own feet.

"Are you okay?" Rikku asked him over the aeon's attacks.

Harry gripped her shoulder and closed his eyes. "Make it go away," he pleaded her.

"Harry?" Rikku asked, clearly worried, but Harry didn't bother responding, trying his hardest to block the cries from his mind.

When Seymour finally let the aeon go, Harry relaxed, slumping against Rikku. The Al Bhed tightened her arms around him, looking around desperately for Tidus to help her with their summoner.

"Is he okay?" Yuna asked, eyes wide with concern.

Rikku tightened her arms around Harry as he tried to get his feet under himself again. "I don't know," she said to Yuna, then looked back at the man and said, "Harry?"

Harry nodded. "I'll be fine. Just..." He shook his head. "That poor woman..."

"What–?" Yuna started.

"The aeon?" Rikku guessed.

Harry nodded and managed to mostly stand on his own, though Rikku kept a firm hand under his elbow. "Yes, her. She was screaming in pain." He shook his head angrily, then looked around. "Where's Tidus? And Wakka?"

His question had the desired effect, for both Yuna and Rikku started looking around for the two missing guardians.

Yuna spotted them first. "Oh! They're with Sir Auron!"

"Auron?" Harry asked as they started down the steps to meet them.

"He was one of my father's guardians," Yuna replied happily.

Harry looked over the man they were approaching, frowning. Rikku leaned over and whispered, "What's got you so grumpy now?"

"He's unsent," Harry replied, still frowning. "For a world that has summoners to keep ghosts from popping up, there sure are a lot of them around."

"Huh?!" Rikku squeaked as they reached the party.

Tidus turned to them with a grin, intent on introducing Auron to Harry and Rikku, but the smile died when he noticed that Harry looked pale and he was leaning on Rikku. "What happened!" he questioned, stepping forward.

Harry sighed and rolled his eyes. "I'm _fine_ , Tidus."

"You don't _look_ fine."

"He had a bad reaction to that aeon," Rikku explained.

"Like, what kind of bad?" Tidus asked, looking between the two worriedly.

Harry shook his head. "So, who's this?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

Tidus frowned at him, knowing what Harry was doing, but turned back to Auron anyway. "Harry, Rikku, this is Auron. He kinda brought me up after my old man died. Auron, this is Rikku and Harry. Harry's a summoner."

Auron looked the group over – he'd already been introduced to Yuna's party by a star-struck Wakka – and nodded to Harry. "It's rare to see two summoners travelling together," he commented.

"We have our reasons," Harry replied tightly. He wanted to like this man who had raised his friend, but he couldn’t help but feel disgust for him because he was unsent. He'd never had such problems around ghosts before, but he also hadn't known about summoners then, or their duty to send the dead. Now, being around an unsent made his skin crawl. A part of him wondered why Yuna didn't seem to feel the same, but maybe his gift for sensing the dead came from his time as a fayth.

"Don't you need to get that trophy, Captain Wakka?" Tidus asked, cutting the tension that Harry's remark had caused.

Wakka's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah!" he said, then turned and hurried off to go get it.

Tidus turned back to Harry, blue eyes still sparkling with concern. "Auron wanted to talk. Will you be okay?"

Harry sighed. " _Tidus_."

Tidus looked at Rikku and the girl grinned. "I'll keep an eye on him."

" _Rikku_!"

"Okay. If he faints again–"

"I didn't _faint_!"

"–come find me," Tidus said, ignoring Harry.

"No problem."

"You two..." Harry sighed while Yuna and Rikku laughed.

Tidus just grinned at him and turned back to Auron. "Off we go, then!"

"We'll meet back up at the top of the city, right before the Mi'ihen Highroad, okay?" Yuna suggested.

"Sounds good," Tidus agreed, then followed Auron away.

Yuna looked over at Harry. "Will you be okay?" she asked.

Harry covered his eyes with one hand and groaned. "Merlin, I'm surrounded by mother hens."

"What's a 'mother hen'?" Yuna asked.

Harry just groaned.

-0-0-0-

"Why am I here?" Tidus demanded once Auron had brought them to a secluded spot. "Why did Sin bring me here? Why did you _let_ it?"

Auron just smiled at him.

Tidus glared for a long minute, then turned away. "You won't tell me."

"Jecht asked me to," Auron said.

Tidus narrowed his eyes at the seagull he was watching. "He's dead," he snapped.

"Depends on what you mean by that," Auron replied.

Tidus whirled around and glared at the man some more. "He's dead, Auron. He went out to sea, there was a storm, he died. End of story!"

"Jecht didn't die, he came here."

Tidus paused, trying desperately to assimilate that bit of knowledge. "He... he came... here?"

Auron nodded. "Jecht and I were the guardians of Summoner Braska. Yuna's father."

Tidus blinked at that. "His guardians..." The his eyes widened when he connected what Auron had said with something Harry had said so long ago. "No..."

Auron frowned. "Tidus?"

Tidus looked up at Auron, feeling sick. "Sin... My old man is Sin?!"

Auron jerked in surprise, then nodded. "How did you know?"

Tidus smiled then, though it was a horrible sort of smile. "Harry told us that the final aeon, the guardian that the summoner sacrifices to create it... that aeon becomes Sin." He looked away. "If he's Sin, why would he bring me here? Why would he send me to a place where I have the chance to turn into what he is now?" He looked back at Auron angrily. "Can you tell me?!"

Auron sighed. "Jecht wants you to be the one to destroy him."

Tidus just looked at the man for a long moment, then growled, "I'm not going to turn into the next Sin."

Auron just blinked at him.

Tidus smiled bitterly. "And yet, that's what he wants, isn't it? To be released from his new prison? Have the crybaby take his place?" He let out a hollow laugh. "Well, he'll just have to keep waiting. Because I have no intention of doing any of that." Then he turned away, starting towards the exit to the Mi'ihen Highroad.

"He doesn't want you to take his place, Tidus!"

Tidus just kept walking, refusing to look back.

Auron jogged to catch up with him. "He wants you to defeat him. Defeat Sin. For good."

"Yeah?" Tidus looked over at him. "Well, good for him."

"Will you just run away?"

Tidus stopped and glared at the man again. "I will continue travelling with Harry and Rikku and help them find a way to defeat Sin for good. Not because of Jecht, but because that's what we want to do. Because it's the right thing to do."

Auron's lips curled with a smile. "That's what Jecht always said."

Tidus let out a strained sound and threw his hands in the air before continuing on his way to where the rest of the party was waiting.

Chuckling, Auron followed him.

-0-0-0-

At the exit of the city, the party stood, waiting for their last member. Harry had decided to lean against the railing, and Rikku stood next to him, watching where Yuna was quietly talking to her two human guardians. "What will you do if Tidus decides to go with Auron somewhere?" she asked.

Harry grunted. "Send the wanker."

Rikku giggled.

Harry turned his head and smiled at her. "I don't know." He tipped his head to one side. "Auron must have a reason for staying here without turning into a fiend. Perhaps it was to help Tidus along, or something. I'm not sure. But if it's to help Tidus, I doubt he'll keep him from continuing with us, but rather come along himself." Harry shuddered as he imagined being around the unsent all the time. "It should be interesting."

Rikku frowned. "What did you mean, earlier, by there being a lot of unsent in Spira?"

Harry sighed. "Maester Mika is also an unsent. I mean, it's not like there weren't ghosts back in my time, but we didn't have summoners back then." He shrugged. "It just seems odd to me, somehow, that all these unsent are wandering around, and no one notices."

Rikku shrugged. "Other than the Guado – and you – no one can sense the unsent."

Harry shook his head. "Of course. And if relations with the Guado are still rocky, they're not likely to tell the humans when they've got unsent running around. So the unsent just keep doing their thing, and the humans have no bloody clue. Typical."

Rikku let out a nervous laugh.

"Heeey!" Tidus' voice called.

Harry jerked and turned around, eyes hopeful, as the young man crested the stairs, the unsent behind him. Tidus grinned at them all and Harry relaxed. "Thank, Merlin."

"You have _got_ to tell me about this Merlin you're always on about," Rikku grumbled.

Harry grinned at her.

"So, when are we headed out?" Tidus asked as Harry and Rikku walked over to where Yuna, Lulu and Wakka had joined Tidus and Auron. Kimahri stayed by the stairs, looking as impassive as ever.

Yuna looked nervously at the man in red. "Sir Auron? Are you..."

Auron nodded to her. "I would like to come with you, if it's permissible."

Yuna nodded happily. "We'd love to have you, wouldn't we?" She looked around at her guardians, as well as Harry and Rikku. Wakka looked almost as excited as Yuna did, but Lulu and Rikku just nodded slowly.

Harry watched the man for a long moment, then nodded. "Very well."

Tidus blinked at his summoner with a small frown, wondering why Harry seemed so unsure about Auron coming with them. Tidus wasn't too pleased with his old guardian at the moment, but that didn't explain why Harry was so displeased.

"Well, let's go!" Yuna declared, then turned to the steps up to the highroad.

Tidus made a mental note to ask Harry about his reaction to Auron when said man wasn't so close and cheerfully rejoined the group.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't dislike Auron, just in case it seemed that way – in fact, I absolutely _adore_ him – but at this point in the game, it makes the most sense that Tidus isn't too fond of him, and his being unsent just doesn't sit well with Harry... Well, this story is about the boys, not who I do and don't like – though you may notice that I abhor Wakka, sorry guys, and so do Tidus and Harry a bit – so the boys' takes on people will colour them. *shrugs*


	5. Operation Mi'ihen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, someone finally guessed Harry's aeon! O.o Well, she named it in a list of ideas, at least. Which is all that counts.  
> And, yes, the rest of you poor sods have to wait until chapter chapter still to find out which it is. (Don't complain, there's only two left. And at the rate I'm updating this, you'll know by the beginning of next week. XD)

The Mi'ihen Highroad, Tidus decided, was looking to be a long and tedious trip. Almost right away, he got told off by Auron when they faced a tougher enemy than his sword could cut through, and Wakka had laughed at him a bit. He'd been feeling quite miffed since, and had kept to the back of their group, with Harry and Rikku.

"Are you moping?" Harry eventually asked, green eyes sparkling.

Tidus huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "No."

"Now you're pouting, instead," Harry commented.

Tidus glared at him.

Rikku rolled her eyes at them, then glanced ahead to make sure the rest of their party was distracted before saying, "Harry? You were complaining about your adoring public at the game..."

"Huh?" Tidus looked over, all his personal angst forgotten at the prospect of learning more about their somewhat secretive companion.

"Yuna started introducing him to the people in the stands as a fellow summoner at the game when they flocked to her, and he kept trying to hide behind me," Rikku explained.

Harry looked between the two teens and sighed, knowing they would pester him about it until he told them. "Remember how I said we'd just finished fighting a war?" he asked.

"Yeah, before that dude came. Hey, did he have a name?" Tidus asked.

Harry looked at him suspiciously. "Not that I can remember, no. Why?"

Tidus shrugged. "Just wondering."

Harry grunted. "Well, the war we'd fought before was in two parts. The bad guy, for a lack of better term, went by the name Lord Voldemort, an anagram of his birth name. He preached the superiority of magical blood, and the killing of those without, or those who came from a family without magic. A lot of the older families flocked to him, and they were on the verge of completely decimating what was left of their opposition when I was born. A prophecy had been made about a child who would destroy Voldemort, and he attacked my family. My parents were killed, but my mother willingly sacrificed herself to save me. Voldemort's spell, which should have killed me, bounced off me and hit him, instead."

"So he died?" Rikku asked, eyes wide. Both teens were quickly drawn into the story.

Harry shook his head. "Voldemort had performed some magic early on that kept him in a sort of half-life. He spent thirteen years floating around as something like a spirit – a pyrefly would be an apt description, I suppose."

"Not a full unsent?" Rikku asked.

"No, just a pyrefly. Eventually, he managed to come back to life, and started to attack our world again. I was hailed as the saviour, because I'd defeated him once, so I should be able to defeat him again." He grimaced. "I did, in the end, with a little help and a lot of luck. And then that other wanker showed up and blew everything to hell. Quite literally, actually..."

"So, you were famous?" Tidus asked.

Harry nodded. "From the age of one. Didn't find out until I was eleven, though, and before that, I lived with relatives who hated my guts..."

"I'm sorry," Rikku whispered.

Harry smiled and shrugged. "It gave me a nice, tough shell, at any rate. Which was good, because during my six years of schooling, the public of the wizarding world waffled between treating me like their saviour and considering me mad or evil, depending on the circumstances." He glanced at Rikku. "I know all too well how fickle the public is, and I'd rather stay out of the lime light in this life."

"We'll do our best," Tidus promised.

"It'll be hard, travelling with Yunie, though," Rikku warned.

Harry sighed. "I've no doubt of that. I'm hoping, at the least, that her having a famous father will mean that she gets most of the attention. Perhaps I'll just be the rookie summoner who's following her around in hopes of getting some pointers." He grinned.

"Uhm, Harry, I hate to break it to you, but you don't look or act like a rookie anything," Tidus commented.

"Bugger."

"Hey, so, Tidus! What did Auron want?" Rikku asked, bouncing a bit.

Tidus looked away, cheerful mood completely gone.

"Tidus?" Harry asked, resting a hand on the boy's shoulder and forcing him to stop. Rikku stopped next to them, looking worried.

Tidus looked up with a forced smile. "My old man didn't die like I thought," he said bitterly. "He came here, to Spira, and acted as one of Braska's two guardians. The other was Auron."

Harry's eyes widened in understanding, but Rikku frowned. "Yeah? So?"

"Your father is Sin," Harry whispered.

Rikku gasped and covered her mouth with both hands, eyes wide, while Tidus just nodded.

Harry pulled the teen into a hug, closing his eyes. It wasn't right, what Sin had done to this world. Done to all the worlds, even the dream ones.

"I'm so sorry, Tidus," Rikku whispered, wrapping her arms around both guys.

Tidus forced a smile. "It doesn't matter. Just gives me another reason to get rid of Sin for good. Right?"

Harry looked up at the teen and nodded. "I wish such a reason didn't exist..."

"Yeah, me too. But you just grin and bear it, right?" Tidus said.

Harry nodded, understanding swimming in his darkened green eyes. "Right."

"Hey!" Wakka shouted. "You guys okay?"

"We're fine!" Harry shouted back. "Just give us a moment!" Then he turned back to Tidus. "You'll be okay?"

Tidus managed a grin at that. "Now who's worrying too much?"

Harry quirked a smile. "Payback's a bitch, eh?"

Tidus and Rikku both laughed and the three sped up a bit to catch up with the rest of the party.

Once everyone had stopped glancing back at the three every few steps, Tidus said, "Thanks. Auron was just so..." He waved his hands around in the air a bit, lost for words.

Harry and Rikku just smiled at him. "That's what friends are for," the summoner said.

-0-0-0-

"We rest here," Auron said as they came upon a shop along the road.

"But this is an Al Bhed shop!" Wakka complained.

"Is that a problem?" Auron asked.

"They don't believe in Yevon!"

"Neither do I," Harry calmly commented, then pushed past the gaping red-head and walked into the shop.

Rikku and Tidus cheerfully joined him, Tidus commenting, "That reminds me, I wanted to try and learn Al Bhed..."

"I'll see what I can do," Rikku replied before the door closed behind them.

Yuna cleared her throat. "Wakka, Sir Auron is just worried about your health."

"I'm not tired one bit!"

"Well I am," Auron replied, and turned to the shop, effectively ending the entire argument.

-0-0-0-

Tidus was seated at one of the tables in the shop with a book on the Al Bhed language that Rikku had found him and a cup of coffee when Wakka plunked down across from him. As soon as the older guardian saw what Tidus was reading, he groaned and said, "Not you too."

Tidus eyed the other blitzballer with a frown. "Wakka, why do you hate the Al Bhed so much? Really."

"They don't believe in Yevon!" Wakka insisted.

Tidus cocked an eyebrow at him. "They're people too. Just as affected by Sin as we are. What does it matter if they don't believe in Yevon?"

Wakka narrowed his eyes. "Don't tell me _you_ don't believe in Yevon, either."

Tidus sighed. "Does it matter? Words won't save you from Sin, and praying to someone won't win you a game of blitzball. Only you can decide the outcome of your future, not some order or god or whatever that's supposed to watch over the whole world."

Wakka just sort of gaped at him like a fish out of water.

Tidus sighed again and gathered up his book and drink. "I'm going out for some fresh air," he said, then turned and did just that.

Outside the travel agency, the sun was setting, and Tidus had to stop for a moment and watch it, awed by the simple beauty. Then he noticed Harry and Yuna sitting on the knoll ahead of him and wandered over.

"–Really think so?" Yuna was asking.

Harry shrugged. "I want to believe so," he corrected. "I want there to be a way to get rid of Sin for good."

"If you ask Wakka," Tidus grumbled, sitting down next to Harry, "he'll tell you Sin will leave when Yevon feels the world has atoned for its sins."

Yuna sighed. "Wakka is... very devoted."

"But you're not?" Tidus demanded, setting his book to the side and looking at the female summoner.

Yuna considered the question, then shrugged. "My father was a summoner, and I believe that summoners are the only people who can defeat Sin, but I'm not willing to completely ignore the possibility of there being another way."

"Which is good," Harry commented sadly, "because without finding another way, this cycle will never end."

"What do you mean?" Yuna asked.

"Yevon doesn't want Sin gone," the young man replied, watching the setting sun. "Well, the order might, but Yevon, the man who was once called Yevon... He doesn't care."

Yuna looked troubled. "Are you saying the Order is built on lies?"

Harry shrugged. "Some of it, yes. Others..." He glanced at her. "Machina did a _lot_ of damage before Yevon's rise to power. All those ruins aren't just Sin's doing, some of it was done by the people that lived there to begin with." He shuddered. "This whole world used to be bigger, but war destroyed it, crushed it into just this small corner of land. Yes, Yevon was the one that ended the war, that protected the last of Spira, but he's also helped to destroy it. And that's the lie."

"How do you know all that?" Yuna pleaded, desperately wanting it to not be true.

"I listened to different people," Harry murmured. "You can ask the fayth, if you don't believe me. Many of them have lived through the changes, and others have seen it from their prisons of crystal and stone. They won't tell you what Yevon wants you to hear, because they are older than him."

Yuna swallowed and nodded. "I...think I might. When we stop at Djose."

Harry nodded.

Yuna glanced past Harry at Tidus, who had returned to his book after letting Harry flitch his coffee. "What are you reading, Tidus?"

Tidus blinked, then grinned. "Teaching myself Al Bhed. I mean, Rikku knows it, and Harry learned it, so it seems kinda silly, being the only one who doesn't know it."

Yuna smiled. "Will you lend me the book once you're finished? It might be nice, learning my mother's tongue. Now that I might have a chance to live after Sin..." She glanced briefly at Harry, who was looking towards the sun with a small smile.

"We'll do it," Tidus insisted. "I know we will."

Yuna gave a short nod and stood, brushing off her skirt. "Well, I think I might go rest a bit. Don't stay up too late!"

"Yes, mum," Harry replied drily, but he had a smile on his face.

Once the sun had gone too low for Tidus to read any more, he put the book to one side and leaned back on his hands, eyeing Harry out of the corner of one eye. "Harry?"

"Mm?"

"Will you tell me something?"

Harry paused for a long moment, then sighed and turned to face Tidus. "I can try."

Tidus blinked in confusion at the response, but shrugged it off. "Why don't you like Auron?"

"Ah, the million gil question," Harry murmured, looking back over the water.

"Harry? Will you tell me?" Tidus asked when the summoner was quiet for too long.

"You won't like my answer," Harry replied. "But, then, I suppose we often dislike the answers we most need to hear..." He looked back at Tidus. "Auron is unsent. He's dead."

Tidus swallowed hard and fell back on the grass, staring up at the stars that were just now appearing. "...are you going to send him?"

Harry shrugged. "Honestly, being around him makes my skin crawl. But he helped raise you, you said, and he's the last link both you and Yuna have to your fathers. I...I can't take that away from you."

Tidus glanced over at the other's dark profile. "Because you wished you'd had someone like that?"

Harry smiled grimly into the night. "I did, once. One of my teachers was my dad's best friend, but he died near the end of the war with Voldemort. Sirius, my godfather, died early on. He'd been wrongfully accused for the betrayal of my parents, so he spent the better part of his life in a prison which stunted his maturity, and then spent the last two years on the run from the law."

"I'm sorry."

Harry shrugged. "I had my friends. They weren't parents, but they were family." He glanced over at Tidus and the teen could only just make out him touching his head. "They still are."

Tidus smiled a bit at that and nodded. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Harry turned back to the ocean.

The two sat there for almost another hour before they both got up and wandered inside to sleep.

-0-0-0-

The next morning, everyone woke on their own time and crawled out into the main area of the shop to have a light breakfast. They were just getting ready to leave when a scream came from outside. The group of eight jumped to their feet and hurried to the door, squeezing a bit to get out.

Outside, in the nearby clearing, a large monster stood, clutching a yellow bird in one hand. As soon as it saw the party, it let the bird go and turned on them, dual tongues dancing madly in its mouth as it roared.

"Lovely," Harry muttered drily as Tidus, Wakka and Rikku all dashed forward to start an attack. Harry sighed, almost in sync with Auron, and shot a Fire spell at it.

With the entire party attacking, they were able to knock the beast back and reduce it to pyreflies without too much trouble. The chocobo attendant happily let them rent some free chocobos for their service and the group set out down the other half of the Mi'ihen Highroad all the faster.

"Can we _always_ travel like this?" Tidus jokingly asked at one point.

"If you're always on a chocobo," Auron had replied darkly, "you'll never be able to fight the fiends that you face when you eventually get off."

"Spoil-sport," Rikku told the unsent, getting her chocobo to run circles around the bird he was riding.

Auron had just stared at her until she backed off, cowed.

"Now he's making _my_ skin crawl," she complained to Harry, making the summoner laugh and getting a grin from Tidus.

They were stopped at the entrance to Mushroom Rock Road.

"I'm sorry, I can't let you pass," the Crusader watching the overhang between the two roads said, then looked the party over. "Oh, hey! You're a summoner and her guardians, right? Sorry for the inconvenience."

"What are you doing up there that requires closing the road, eh?" Wakka asked.

"We're bringing Sinspawn from all over Spira here," the man explained, eyes bright. "Sinspawn brings Sin, right? We're luring it into a big trap!"

"Sounds like a plan doomed to fail," Harry mumbled to himself. Tidus and Rikku were close enough to hear and winced in agreement.

"So, now what'll we do?" Tidus asked as they turned away from the road.

"We could try and catch a boat?" Rikku suggested. When everyone looked at her like she was a little mad, she smiled sheepishly and said, "Yeah, I guess normal boats don't make stops around here, do they?"

"We could always camp out until they're done, I guess," Harry said with a frown.

"Oh! Maester Seymour!" Yuna said, looking down the Mi'ihen Highroad.

Seymour calmly greeted Yuna and, after finding out about their concerns about passing through the blockade, arranged for them to come through and watch the operation with him at the command centre.

"He's up to something," Harry commented once the maester had continued on, leaving them in his wake.

"Hold your tongue!" Wakka snapped.

Harry cocked an eyebrow at him and held his staff forward warningly. "Wakka, don't make me Silence you."

Wakka looked like he might have something rude to say to that, but Lulu ended the confrontation by grabbing his arm and dragging him along behind Kimahri and Yuna.

Tidus sighed. "Do we _have_ to go with them?" he asked of Harry and Rikku.

"We could always just lose Wakka," Rikku commented cheerfully.

Auron eyed them oddly before starting out after the rest of the party. Snickering, the three friends followed him.

-0-0-0-

After ten minutes of Wakka complaining about Al Bhed and the Crusaders using their machina, Harry finally shot a Silencing spell at him. When Wakka glared at him, Harry snapped, "I have little patience for prejudiced bastards who insist that their view of the world is the correct one. If you insist on continuing with your ranting, feel free to do so in silence. And if anyone cures him, only for him to start ranting again, I'll do the same to them." Then he stalked off in a huff.

Tidus and Rikku both waved cheerfully at the staring Wakka before running off after their summoner, intent to _not_ let himself get killed by fiends.

Yuna cleared her throat and glanced at Wakka. "He's kind of right, you know," she said, receiving a wounded look. "Well, I mean... Well, the Al Bhed and the Crusaders are doing just what we are, right? They're trying to find a way to stop Sin. Even if it goes against Yevon... Wakka, isn't that something worth fighting for?" she finished, then started off after their fellow party members at a much more sedate pace.

Everyone else fell in line behind her, considering her words in silence.

-0-0-0-

Operation Mi'ihen was once of the most horrible fights anyone in the party had ever seen. Sin's first attack practically destroyed the entire camp, scattering the party all along the beach with the dead. The second attack finished the job.

Tidus, waking on the beach, wandered around until he came upon a young crusader who had been desperate to fight, earlier. The boy was curled into a ball, sobbing and questioning the slaughter that had occurred. Tidus, half-mad with anger, shouted after Sin and might have gone swimming after him, but Rikku reached him first and held him back, silent tears falling down her face.

On the ledge where the command centre had once stood, Yuna desperately made to summon, but Seymour snapped at her that she couldn't. When she looked back at him, hurt, she saw Harry, expression shuttered and holding himself as if he felt just as helpless as she did. When the older summoner shook his head at her, she turned back towards where Sin was leaving, tears slipping down her face.

Rikku led Tidus back up to the ledge while Harry and Yuna performed a strange sort of duet as a Sending. The two stood there, watching their friend and family help the dead pass on.

After the dance had finished and their friends had started gathering again, Tidus turned on Auron and demanded, "What did that prove?!"

Auron just watched him for a minute, then said, "He was showing you what he could do, why you need to destroy him."

"I already know what he's capable of," Tidus hissed. "I saw Kilika. I didn't... This shouldn't have happened!"

"And yet," Harry said, walking over with a listless Yuna, "it did. Yes, perhaps Sin did it to give us the strength to destroy him, the drive. But perhaps he also did it to punish those who would taunt him with his spawn. Perhaps he felt the world needed a reminder of exactly how cruel he is."

Tidus looked away, feeling sick, and refused to be comforted by Rikku's gentle hand on his shoulder.

Once the others had joined them, they headed out again, continuing to Djose with the weight of the world bearing down on their shoulders.


	6. Guadosalam

By the time they got to Djose, the party had mostly managed to shake their initial reaction to the slaughter, mostly due to Yuna's attempts to make them laugh with bad jokes. When Tidus asked why she was so determined to get them laughing, Lulu said, "Yuna always wanted her pilgrimage to be filled with good spirits, because she knew it would be that last memories she would ever have. Just because we're trying to find a way that doesn't result in her death, doesn't mean she wants that happiness any less."

"Summoners are seen as something of a pillar of strength," Harry added when Tidus fell back to walk with his two friends, wearing a thoughtful frown. "People look to summoners to defeat Sin and bring ten years of peace. A summoner who's always cheerful is a better summoner than one who lets their worry for the future show."

"Summoners pick their path early," Auron added, making Tidus and Rikku jump, as they hadn't known he'd been close enough to listen in, "Just as the Crusaders did. Yuna has long known what her fate would be, and she's already accepted it, if only it would bring peace to her people."

Tidus huffed and said, "But not any more they won't. Not if we have anything to say about it, right?" He glanced over at Harry, who smiled and nodded. Then the teen smirked at Auron.

The unsent sighed and shook his head.

Yuna fell back at they came into view of the temple. "Harry? Would you like to go in first?"

Harry eyed her curiously. "You intend to talk to him?"

Yuna nodded. "It might take time."

Harry smiled. "Of course. If you want, we can all go through the Trials together, I should think." His eyes flickered to Wakka's quiet form ahead of them. "I'm pretty sure that's not against Yevon."

Yuna laughed lightly. "That should be fine. And it would probably be faster."

"Of course it will," Harry agreed.

Yuna gave one, short nod, then skipped back up to the front of their group to let her guardians know their plans.

Rikku leaned over and whispered, "But isn't it against Yevon for us to go in with you?"

Harry cocked an eyebrow. "It's also technically against Yevon to have an Al Bhed as a guardian," he agreed.

Rikku covered a smile and looked away. "Right."

Tidus eyed the two of them curiously, then said, "Does that mean we can still come in with you?"

Harry's eyes flickered up to Wakka again and his lips curved into a smirk. "Certainly."

"You _really_ don't like Wakka, do you?" Tidus asked, shaking his head.

Harry shrugged. "He reminds me of my best friend, Ron, before he matured because of the war," he commented. "I love Ron like a brother, but he was such a prat at the time. If I hadn't been so desperate for a friend, I might never have forgiven him after the first time we had a falling out. But I did, and he got better. Wakka is older than Ron ever was, but he's still as immature as Ron was at eleven." He smiled sadly at his two companions. "I don't have the patience I used to, I'm afraid."

Tidus shrugged. "Okay."

Harry smiled. "Anyway, you might enjoy coming in again. One of my friends is here."

"Really?" Tidus asked, leaning forward.

"Neville," Harry replied. "He lacked confidence when we were kids, but he grew up to be one of the bravest and most loyal men I've ever known."

Rikku sighed. "I wish we could have met your friends in life."

Harry's smile turned sad. "Yeah. Me too."

-0-0-0-

In the temple, they met up with a summoner who was a little older than Yuna. He happily challenged Yuna to see which of them could make it to the Final Summoning first, then left with a wave. Harry was quite glad the young man hadn't given Yuna the time to introduce him, as Harry had no intentions of being dragged into a childish race.

"Sorry," Yuna said as they made their way up the steps to the Cloister of Trials.

Harry shrugged. "Please, feel free to draw the attention; I don't want it." He smiled at her.

Yuna nodded, though she looked troubled. Partway through the Trials, she finally asked. "You're sure you don't mind? I mean, you're a summoner too. And you've been working longer to find a permanent way to defeat Sin. Don't you deserve some praise?"

Harry sighed and turned to look at the girl tiredly. "Yuna, I don't care for recognition. If I get my way, I'll happily disappear after Sin's gone. Honestly, you can take any credit, assuming we manage it." He forced a smile. "You handle the fame far better than I ever could," he added, then turned to join the others on the platform to the second level.

Yuna shook her head, not understanding, and followed.

-0-0-0-

When they finally made their way to the chamber, Harry made for the door to the fayth, while Yuna and her party took up positions around the room. As Harry had half-way expected, Wakka complained when he realised Tidus and Rikku were going in with their summoner: "You're not allowed–"

Harry waved his staff warningly at the red-head, smiling when he immediately shut up. "As I have said before," he said softly, "I don't care for Yevon. The rules I follow in the temples are those of the fayth, and they don't mind a few extra people in their rooms, so long as those with the summoner maintain a respectful silence unless spoken to. Now, if that's all?"

Wakka nodded emphatically, so Harry turned and walked into the fayth's room, calmly sidestepping his guardians, who stood on either side of the closing door, and took his place at the other side of the crystal. There, he bowed his head and opened his thoughts to Neville.

The young man who appeared above the stone looked weary, but pleased. "Harry," he whispered.

Harry looked up at the ghost and smiled. "Hey, Nev."

Neville inclined his head. "Luna and Alexander mentioned you're alive again."

Harry's smile twisted bitterly. "In a manner of speaking."

Neville inclined his head again, then glanced back at Rikku and Tidus, who both stood a little straighter. The fayth smiled at them and looked back at Harry. "Your guardians?"

"In a manner of speaking," the summoner said again.

Neville chuckled. "I imagine Yu Yevon is rolling around in his armour at the thought that he might be defeated by an ex-fayth, an Al Bhed and a dre–"

"Neville!" Harry snapped, shaking his head.

Neville rose an eyebrow at him while Tidus and Rikku traded nervous looks. "You, of all people, should know how much secrets hurt," he admonished the summoner.

Harry swallowed and asked, "Will you lend me Ixion?"

Neville watched his friend for a long moment before nodding. "I will," he agreed, and a shadowy form slipped from his crystal to enter Harry.

Harry closed his eyes and let the new aeon settle, then looked back up at Neville and nodded. Neville nodded back and made to fade, but Tidus said, "Wait!" When the other three turned to look at him with raised eyebrows – Harry and Neville – or an incredulous look – Rikku – he smiled sheepishly and said, "Sorry. But I thought it might be nice to warn you about Yuna."

"Mmm... Good point," Harry decided, smiling at Tidus, then looking back at Neville. "There's a young summoner out there, Braska's daughter," he said, and Neville nodded his understanding. "I told her a bit about the world before Yevon, and about him being the one to end the wars. She intends to ask you about it, because I told her I'd learned about it from the fayth."

Neville nodded. "Did you tell her what Yevon has become?"

Harry shook his head. "She's still too attached. I only told her he ended the wars, but did his own fair share of damage in the process."

Neville nodded again. "I can do that." He smiled sadly. "Most of Spira isn't ready to hear the truth about Yevon."

Tidus and Rikku traded looks again, considering whether they were included in that majority or not.

"Thank you," Harry said to his friend.

"Anything else?" Neville asked, looking over his shoulder at the two guardians to include them in the question.

Harry frowned, then nodded. "One of the maesters used an aeon that I didn't recognise. She was screaming in pain."

Neville frowned and closed his eyes. "An aeon that was... Ah..." He looked back at Harry. "Do you remember the mother who joined us on the steps of Zanarkand? It was perhaps fifteen years ago."

Harry nibbled his lower lip in thought for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Jessica?"

Neville nodded. "She was about to die, and she didn't want to leave her young son alone, so she became an aeon and gave him her powers. She is called Anima."

Harry sighed. "Does she hurt?" he asked.

Neville smiled sadly. "Her son is a maester, and he's done some horrible things in his quest for ever more power," he said. "Of course she hurts."

Harry nodded his understanding. "I see. I will see if I can help."

"A favourable end to your journey is all the help she requires."

"I will do my best."

Neville smiled. "You always do," he said, then faded from sight as the door to the main room opened.

Tidus and Rikku preceded Harry out, and both stopped, eyes narrowed, when they caught sight of the newest addition to the group.

Dona looked the small group over with disgust and said, "I was under the impression that only summoners were allowed in the inner chamber."

"Clearly, someone told you wrong," Rikku snapped in reply.

"Rikku," Harry murmured, settling a hand on her arm. "Peace. Not everyone listens to the fayth as I do."

Dona narrowed her eyes. "All summoners listen to the fayth, little boy."

Harry simply smiled and waved Yuna past him. "Good luck," he told her.

Yuna smiled in reply. "Thank you."

Dona laughed drily. "Lord Braska's daughter not only needs a large number of guardians, but she also depends on another summoner? Ah, to live in the shadow of greatness."

Harry clenched his hands in fists and was about to tell the woman off, but Tidus beat him to it: "What would _you_ know about living in the shadow of greatness? What makes you assume that shadow makes things easier for you? You understand _nothing_ about how difficult it is to grow up in the shadow of greatness!"

Harry grabbed Tidus' arm as the teen made to step forward and, probably, start a fight he would surely lose. "Tidus, there's no reason to argue with someone who could never understand the fame of others." He smiled nastily at Dona. "After all, it's not like she'll ever achieve it. No, her sort will spend the rest of their lives looking up at the statues of the great men and women of Spira and being jealous, because she believed their paths were easy, when, really, fame is the hardest course one will ever travel, and she just didn't have the strength needed to make it on her own."

The room rang heavy with silence and Dona looked at Harry like she wasn't sure whether she wanted to throttle him or not. After a long moment of opening and closing her mouth, she said, "What do _you_ know of fame?"

Harry smiled blissfully. "Nothing at all," he replied, then herded his two guardians to an empty space against the wall. As everyone else turned their attention back to whatever they'd been doing before Harry had come out, Rikku and Harry turned their attention to Tidus and drilled him on what little Al Bhed he'd managed to assimilate the night before. When Harry was sure no one was watching them, he quietly cast the spell he'd used to learn the language on Tidus, making the teen grin at him gratefully.

When Yuna finally stumbled out, looking troubled, Dona stalked past her, still angry at the comments Harry had made. Yuna's guardians all hurried to check that she was okay while Harry and his two guardians brushed themselves off and joined the others as they headed to the door.

Down in the main temple, the party of eight made themselves useful by helping the monks care for those who had been wounded at Operation Mi'ihen. Tidus and Rikku happened to be taking a short break – they were all ordered to take short breaks by Auron – when Dona and her guardian emerged from the Cloister of Trials.

"Hey, Dona!" Tidus called, getting to his feet.

"Tidus!" Rikku hissed, tugging on the other's arm in hope of keeping him from starting a fight.

Dona looked over at the teen coldly. "What do you want?"

Tidus smiled at her and said, "If you want to know what it's like to be Yuna, you might try caring a bit for your fellow man. Part of the reason so many people like Yuna is that she cares more for the people of Spira than she does for her own reputation. Take this temple, for example," he said, waving his arms about. "Yuna and Harry should be continuing on their pilgrimages, but instead we're spending the night here and helping care for the wounded."

"Are you saying I should end my pilgrimage at the drop of a hat to help idiots?" Dona demanded.

Tidus shrugged. "It seems silly to sacrifice yourself for people you've never even spoken to. Perhaps they brought this on themselves, but, if you listen to Yevon, didn't we bring Sin upon ourselves to begin with?"

"Hey, you two!" Wakka called, walking out of the side chamber he'd been working in with Yuna, Kimahri and Auron. "Sir Auron says it's time you two relieved Lu and me!"

"Alright, we'll go get Lulu," Tidus agreed. "Are you guys okay in there for people?"

Wakka turned poked his head back inside the chamber and asked, then looked back out and nodded. "Yuna says they'll be fine with just the three of them."

"Right," Rikku said, then dragged Tidus over to the room Harry and Lulu were working in. "Lulu! You're relieved!"

The black mage let out a tired sigh and carefully climbed to her feet. "Thanks."

"The monks'll give you food while you're out there," Tidus suggested, watching her exhausted form with concern.

Lulu offered the teens a small smile as she walked past them.

"How are you holding up?" Rikku asked Harry as she and Tidus knelt next to him to get back to work.

Harry looked even more tired than Lulu had when he smiled up at them. "I'm fine."

"Harry, if you work yourself to exhaustion, you won't do these people any good," Tidus warned him.

But Harry shook his head. "I'm fine."

Tidus and Rikku traded looks, then leaned down together and bodily lifted the summoner and carried him out of the room while he ordered them, "Put me down! I said I'm fine!"

"Every time you've ever said you're 'fine', you weren't," Rikku informed him.

Lulu and Wakka chuckled at the three friends as Tidus and Rikku dropped their summoner on the ground next to the other guardians. Harry shot them all disgruntled looks and crossed his arms over his chest.

Tidus sighed and rolled his eyes. "Harry, aren't you the person who told us that part of our job as your guardians was to protect you from yourself?"

Harry huffed and looked away.

"We'll make sure he stays here," Lulu promised as Wakka waved a monk over to get the summoner some food.

"Thanks," Rikku said with a relieved smile.

"I don't need a babysitter," Harry complained.

"We could tie you up instead," Rikku offered cheerfully.

Harry glared at the two teens until they went back to the room they'd been working in. The two stopped in the doorway and stared at where Dona and her guardian were helping the monks. One of the monks walked over to the two teens and whispered, "Whatever you said to her worked. She's quite determined all of a sudden to do her part to help out."

"Well, damn," Rikku mumbled, then clapped Tidus on the shoulder, ignoring the monk's scandalised look at her language. "Tidus, you just earned the job of talking around people who think too highly of themselves."

Tidus snorted in amusement. "Well, how about we go help her, now that we've got her working?" he suggested with a grin.

With three summoners and an extra guardian, they were able to either heal or send everyone who had made it to the temple by the time the moon rose, without completely exhausting anyone. They spent the rest of the night in rooms the temple lent them.

The next morning, the two parties met in front of the temple, all munching on some sort of pastry the temple monks had made for breakfast.

"Thank you," Yuna said to Dona, having not had the chance to do so the night before.

Dona shrugged, then glanced at where Tidus was begging another pastry off of one of the monks. "You have the blond boy to thank."

"He may have given you the idea," Harry commented, "but you are the one who acted. And that, Lady Dona, is what we thank you for. Your help was invaluable, and I honestly wouldn't have expected you to even consider Tidus' words after all I'd said earlier."

Dona frowned at the male summoner for a long moment before saying, "What he said made sense; I would make a poor summoner if I didn't stop and help where I could. Perhaps you were right, Lord Harry, when you told me I would never find the recognition that Lady Yuna seems to achieve with ease. Because you, Lady Yuna, and you, Lord Harry, both have something in you that makes you want to help others, as Lord Braska and other High Summoners did. You don't even really think about helping them, you don't ask yourself 'is this stop worth it', you just do it. And that's what makes you the better summoners."

"We're not better–" Yuna tried.

Dona shook her head. "The blond boy said it seemed silly to sacrifice yourself for people you don't even know, and I believe I understand now what he meant. While I was in there, helping those wounded, I wondered if I would have the strength needed to get the Final Aeon and use it against Sin to save people I hardly knew." She smiled bitterly. "I intend to go home to Bevelle and join the Order; perhaps, through them, I will find the same strength you seem to have been born with."

"Good luck," Harry said.

"Thank you," Dona replied, then turned and left them.

Tidus walked back over with another load of pastries, which he passed out to the entire group. "Where are Dona and Barthello going?" he asked, munching on a pastry. He'd gotten enough for them, too, but if they were leaving, he'd eat them.

"Dona's going to find herself," Harry murmured, then filched one of the extra pastries from Tidus while Rikku stole the other one.

"Hey!"

Everyone chuckled and they set out again in high spirits.

-0-0-0-

On the way to the Moonflow, they came across a couple of Ronso, who happily made fun of Kimahri. Yet, even though they were nasty to the only Ronso in their party, the two Ronso also warned them about the disappearing summoners.

"Who would go around stealing summoners?" Wakka said after the Ronso had gone.

Harry, Rikku and Tidus all traded winces while Lulu glanced at Yuna, who nodded, then said, "The Al Bhed."

"Those–!"

Harry waved his staff at Wakka and shut him up before he could start in on the Al Bhed again. When the guardian gave him a furious look, Harry sighed and said, "If you'd waited to go off on your rant, we would have also been able to tell you that Rikku and I already talked to the Al Bhed about leaving our party alone."

"Anyway," Rikku added, "they're only kidnapping summoners to keep them from sacrificing themselves to get rid of Sin. We believe–" Rikku had to stop talking when Wakka jerked forward, looking ready to kill her, but Tidus and Lulu grabbed the young man before he could manage it. "What did I say?" Rikku complained, hiding behind Harry.

Harry sighed. "You included yourself in the statement about what the Al Bhed believe."

"Oops..."

Harry sighed again.

"Wakka!" Tidus shouted in the red-head's face, "Calm down!"

Wakka moved his mouth as if he was shouting something at Tidus.

Tidus glanced back at Harry and said, "I fear for my eardrums, but..."

Harry nodded and waved his staff, curing Wakka of the silence.

"I said," Wakka snapped angrily, "why are you letting an Al Bhed travel with you? Are you enjoying mocking Yevon with your lack of tradition?"

"You know," Harry replied drily, "that might actually bother me if I cared what your order thought. But I don't. In case you haven't noticed, I don't care for Yevon any more than the Al Bhed do, which makes Rikku a fine guardian."

Wakka seemed to decide that he wasn't going to get through to the green-eyed summoner, so he turned to Yuna. "You let him bring an Al Bhed with us? Or didn't you know?"

Yuna shook her head. "Wakka, Rikku's my cousin – we wanted to travel together. But she'd already promised her services to Harry."

"And even you have to admit that she's a good guardian," Lulu added calmly, "for both Yuna and Harry."

Wakka looked between the two ladies with a torn look on his face. "You don't care that we're travelling with a heathen? Any of you?" he asked, looking to include Auron, Kimahri and Tidus in his plea, none of whom answered.

Rikku took a deep breath and stepped out from behind Harry. "My people want to find a better way to get rid of Sin, a permanent way. We don't believe sacrificing your life to Sin is worth it."

"But Yevon..."

"I know things about your Yevon that would make you cry," Harry snapped, fed up with the whole argument. "If you ever wondered why Sin was here, why don't you ask your holy scriptures? Perhaps they'll tell you about the _real_ Yevon, the man who _created_ Sin." And with that, Harry continued towards the Moonflow.

"That... can't..." Wakka tried to deny.

"Considering how right he's been about other things no one else knew about," Tidus said tightly, glancing at Auron, "I'm willing to bet he's right." Then he hurried after Harry, Rikku following on his heels.

"What did he mean by that?" Wakka demanded.

"Harry learned history from the fayth," Yuna said, "who lived through the war that ended with Sin, and they don't believe in spreading what they call 'Yevon's lies'. I asked, at Djose Temple, because Harry suggested I might want to. There was a man named Yevon who ended the Machina Wars one thousand years ago, but whatever thing he used to end it was what actually destroyed Zanarkand, as well as a few other islands."

"But... Sin destroyed Zanarkand!" Wakka said.

"Exactly," Auron replied.

Wakka looked around at the party, but most of them looked just as crushed as he felt.

"We should continue on our way," Auron suggested, nodding down the road where Harry, Tidus and Rikku had gone.

-0-0-0-

"Is it true?" Rikku asked as she and Tidus caught up with Harry. "Did Yevon create Sin?"

Harry stopped walking and closed his eyes. "Yu Yevon didn't just create Sin, he _is_ Sin."

"But... Sin, is, like, a thousand years old. Right?" Tidus asked. "And, I thought you said the Final Aeon was Sin."

Harry sighed and rubbed at his eyes. "Yu Yevon created the armour known as Sin in an attempt to end the Machina Wars. He'd already had a large following at the time, and those men and women were what started the Order of Yevon. Basically, Yevon managed to stop the war, but at the cost of many more lives – he destroyed any town unwilling to destroy its own machina – and he and his people preached about the evils of machina." He glanced back over his shoulder and motioned for them to keep moving before he continued.

"Every once in a while, more machina would pop up, so Yevon kept the armour. Eventually, he realised that, with the armour, he was practically indestructible, so he decided to stay in it. I would assume, at this point, he's some sort of unsent, since it _has_ been a thousand years."

"But, what about the Final Aeon?" Rikku asked this time.

Harry shrugged. "I'm not one hundred percent certain of this, you have to understand, because no one has ever come back from Sin intact." When the teens nodded, Harry said, "Our guess is that Yevon sort of assimilates the Final Aeon into himself, and it takes ten years to be able to fully use that assimilated aeon, so he lays low for that long. That Final Aeon, I think, is probably part of what's keeping Yevon alive. He'd have to find some sort of life-force to stay on this plane for so long." He smiled grimly. "Even the unsent can only last so long."

Rikku and Tidus kept silent for the rest of their trip to the Moonflow. When they finally got there, Tidus oohed and ahed over the simple beauty of the river, and the three friends silently agreed to wait there for the rest of the party.

When everyone else caught up, they simply stood by the bank of the Moonflow for a long time. Eventually, Yuna said, "We should head on. I would like to at least reach the far bank before nightfall."

"A not unreasonable wish," Harry commented.

When everyone had nodded their agreement, Yuna added, "And, I know it might be hard, but... remember to smile?" She tried a smile of her own, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

Everyone else managed a smile – especially after Kimahri's own attempt, which earned a few chuckles – and they headed over to the shoopuf crossing. There, they were all further amused by Tidus' overzealous exclamations about the elephant-like beast, and both Auron and Yuna regaled them with stories of previous crossings, which made the smiles that much easier to wear.

Once on the shoopuf, they all fell silent, each spending a quiet moment to watch the passing river. Rikku got Tidus to look over the side at the sunken city, eyes sparkling, but other than that, it was a calm trip.

Once on the other side, they set up camp just outside the forest, next to the river. Over their dinner, Harry cleared his throat and said, "For what little it's worth, I hadn't intended to tell you all that about Yevon."

"Better to tell them now, rather than have them find out when keeping their heads really matters," Auron said in the silence.

Harry rose an eyebrow at the unsent. "Shall we all share our darkest secrets here, then?" he asked acidly.

"Harry," Tidus whispered, shaking his head when the summoner looked at him.

"There isn't anything else about Yevon that you haven't shared yet, is there?" Yuna asked.

Harry sighed and looked over the river, where the pyreflies danced. "There are many things about Yevon you don't know," he replied, turning to look back at the young woman. "But I don't think you're ready to hear them. Not yet."

"So you keep more secrets from us!" Wakka snapped, standing to tower over the slighter man.

"I _hate_ keeping secrets from people," Harry ground out, green eyes flashing. "Merlin knows enough were kept from me when I was a kid, secrets that could have saved lives. But I won't sit here and tell you things that will completely break you. I will tell you what I know once I see that you're ready, and you're _not ready yet_. Do you understand?"

Tidus cleared his throat, drawing Wakka's attention to him before he could yell again, and he said, "Wakka, you're not ready. Accept what you already know – _truly accept it_ – and then you'll be ready to know everything else. That's how it works."

"You're happier not knowing, anyway," Rikku commented glumly. "I don't like Yevon, but even _I_ would have rather waited before finding out." She smiled slightly at Harry, who was grimacing. "I _did_ ask though, so it's my own fault."

Harry shook his head and stood. "I'm sorry," he said to them all again, then walked away from their small fire to sit by the side of the river.

"We should probably all get some sleep," Yuna suggested.

Tidus scratched the back of his head and stood, glancing at Rikku. "I'll take the first watch," he said, then turned and walked over to where Harry was sitting.

The two sat in silence, just watching the dancing pyreflies, as the camp behind them moved around to get ready for bed and, eventually, fell asleep.

"Will you tell me?" Tidus asked after the camp had been silent for a while. Harry glanced at him questioningly and Tidus said, "What Neville was about to call me."

Harry let out a rather explosive breath and rubbed at his face. "I don't..." He made an aggravated noise and tugged on a lock of hair. "I don't want to hurt you," he finally said. "And it will. It will hurt you so..." His voice caught and he determinedly looked away.

Tidus considered the river for a few minutes, then said, "I've been trying to figure out what starts with 'dre' ever since we left that chamber. There's not a lot of options." He glanced at Harry. "I'll figure it out eventually, you know."

Harry let out a bitter laugh. "I've no doubt." He shook his head. "You're not from Zanarkand–"

"But–"

"No, listen," Harry admonished him. Tidus fell silent and Harry nodded. "You're not from the _real_ Zanarkand, the one that Yevon destroyed one thousand years ago. You're part of a dream, which the surviving fayth of Zanarkand created so their beautiful city would never be forgotten."

Tidus shook his head, not sure he believed what Harry was saying, but equally unable to believe that Harry might lie to him about something that so obviously hurt him.

"Your father, Jecht," Harry continued, "was a desperate bid of the fayths' to find something that could destroy Sin for good. Jecht failed – he became part of Sin instead – so they decided to try again. They sent Sin to bring you here, to Spira, where they hoped you could find a way to do what your father couldn't."

"So I'm not real," Tidus said in a monotone.

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered.

Tidus nodded in recognition of the other's words and stared out over the Moonflow, feeling numb. It seemed right, the numbness. After all, if he was just a dream, what right did he have to feel things?

Eventually, Harry stood. "I'm going to get some sleep. You should too."

Tidus smiled without any humour. "Does it really matter if I sleep?" he asked.

Harry took a deep breath and said, "You tell me. Surely you've been tired before."

"But it's not real," Tidus replied.

"What is reality?" Harry asked angrily. "Is lying trapped in cold stone real? Is granting people the ability to call on creatures that don't actually exist real? You eat and you breathe and you bleed, just like the rest of us. Isn't that real enough for you?" he finished, then stalked over to where his sleeping bag had been laid out between Rikku and Tidus' bags.

Tidus stared out over the Moonflow for another hour before he finally got up and woke Wakka to take over the watch and went to bed.

-0-0-0-

They got up the next morning in heavy silence and cleaned their camp-site before taking to the road again, headed to Guadosalam.

They were finally shocked from their quiet misery at the entrance to Guadosalam, where Seymour's personal retainer, Tromell, met them and told them that Seymour requested Yuna's presence. The whole group followed him into the large manor where the leaders of the Guado lived and were ushered into the dining room. There, Rikku happily bounced around, trying a little of everything, making everyone laugh, in spite of the revelations of the night before and the question of what Seymour wanted with Yuna.

When Seymour finally came to greet them, he admonished Tromell about praising him and was admonished in turn by Auron for suggesting that they had more time on their hands than they actually did. He called Yuna forward and, suddenly, the room disappeared to be replaced by stars and the black of the universe. Shortly after, it became a city that made Tidus want to cry.

"Zanarkand," he whispered, and felt Harry's hand land gently on his shoulder and squeeze. He looked back at the summoner and smiled gratefully.

Tidus finally became aware of others speaking as the image changed again, this time to a bed chamber where a woman sat on a bed.

"Lady Yunalesca!" Yuna cried in surprise. Next to Tidus, Harry had tensed and seemed to be having some trouble breathing. Tidus grabbed the hand on his shoulder and squeezed it, hoping to bring Harry out of whatever horror had gripped him. The man turned to him with wide eyes and Tidus opened his mouth to ask if Harry was okay, but thought better of it at the last minute and closed his mouth again. Harry, anticipating his question, gave him a sad smile that seemed to say, 'I'm not fine, but this is not the place'.

Tidus and Harry both returned their attention to where Seymour was whispering to Yuna when the images disappeared. The girl looked shocked by whatever the half-Guado had told her and she dashed for a glass of water, which she drank at record speed.

"Wow!" Rikku said, stepping forward. "Your face is beet red!"

"You okay?" Tidus asked from where he stood with Harry.

Yuna took a deep breath, then said, "He...he asked me to marry him!"

Harry's eyes shot to the maester and narrowed suspiciously while Auron questioned the man's intentions.

Seymour promised them time to think and they all started to leave. Harry, Tidus, Rikku and Auron were near the door when Seymour asked, "Why are you still here, sir?" When Auron turned to glare at him, he added, "I beg your pardon. We Guado are keen to the scent of the Farplane."

"Have you inquired about Maester Mika's continued existence as well?" Harry asked sharply, "Or do you only ask those unsent such questions when they don't dance perfectly to your tune?"

Auron and Seymour both turned to stare at the summoner, but Auron's gaze also flickered to Tidus, who simply rolled his eyes and grabbed Harry's arm. "Don't antagonise the man until _after_ Yuna's turned him down," he suggested, then half-dragged Harry from the manor.

Harry huffed grumpily.

Rikku shook her head at both of them and helped Tidus get Harry from the manor quicker by shoving him. When the others saw their approach, Lulu raised an eyebrow at them. "Harry decided to antagonise the maester," Tidus commented drily.

"I don't like him," Harry complained. "He's up to something."

"Maesters are always up to something," Auron pointed out.

Harry took a deep breath, then said, "You remember that aeon he called at the blitzball game?"

"Is this going to be another thing we don't wanna hear?" Wakka asked darkly.

Harry glanced at him briefly, but otherwise ignored him. "That aeon was Anima, and she is Seymour's mother."

"But she's in such pain!" Yuna cried.

"She sacrificed herself so he would have a better chance to survive in the two worlds he was born to," Harry replied quietly. "Her sacrifice gave him a taste for power and he keeps looking for more, no matter the cost."

"He asked Ixion's fayth," Rikku supplied mutely.

Yuna bit her lip and looked over her gathered friends, then stood. "I'm going to the Farplane," she decided. "I would... I need to think."

"Go on," Lulu said, "We'll be right behind you."

Everyone followed her up the bridge to the path to the Farplane. Just outside the doorway to the path, Harry turned to Auron and said, "You don't have to come any closer – they will understand."

Auron eyed him for a long moment, the short summoner with ancient eyes and the two unusual guardians standing quietly behind him. After a moment, he nodded. "I will stay here, then."

Harry nodded and he went down the path with his friends.

"So, what is the Farplane?" Tidus asked.

"The Farplane is where the dead go once a summoner has sent them," Rikku explained. "But... This version of the Farplane is really just a place where pilgrims come to see their dead relatives. The pyreflies gather and form the person you're thinking of, but that person isn't really there."

Tidus nodded, then glanced at Harry. "Will you show us your family? And those two friends that died?"

Harry glanced at the teen. "You know the Farplane isn't real, not really."

"It's just memories," Rikku agreed. "But... I would like to see them too, I think." She smiled. "It would be nice to put faces with names."

Harry's lips twitched. "I suppose. It would be nice to see them again, even if it is just a memory." His faint smile was tinged with bitterness. "Assuming I can even remember what they look like."

"Your heart will remember," Rikku assured him.

Harry cocked an eyebrow at her. "That was, most likely, the _corniest_ thing I have heard in years."

Rikku grinned and winked, making Tidus laugh.

They entered the Farplane behind the others and looked around. Yuna was staring at a couple who appeared to be her parents, while Wakka was quietly talking to a young man who had the same red hair.

Harry led them over to an empty spot along the edge of the platform they stood on and all three of them stopped to stare as the clouds cleared to show trees and rivers of lava. "Terrible, yet beautiful," Harry whispered. "This is the true form of the Farplane."

"Cheerful," Tidus commented.

Harry smiled, then focused his thoughts on his parents and Ron and Hermione. After a moment, he heard Tidus and Rikku draw sharp breaths and he looked up to find his family, smiling at him. "That's Ron and Hermione," he told them, "in the front. And..." His voice caught as he looked up into green eyes which were a mirror of his own. "My mum, and my dad," he finally managed.

Another man appeared next to James Potter as Harry's thoughts changed to the others he'd lost who were just as much his family. "Sirius, my godfather," he said, narrating the additional figures. "That's Remus and Tonks. They were married during the war and died at the final battle. Their son, Teddy, was named my godson. And that's Ron's family. Molly and Arthur, his parents. The twins, Fred and George. Charlie. Bill, and his wife, Fleur..."

Harry closed his eyes, focusing on the hands on his shoulders, rather than the dead. Invariably, thinking of the war brought one more face to mind and he opened his eyes to meet red eyes with slit pupils. "Voldemort," he hissed with feeling.

"He's... kind of ugly," Rikku offered.

Harry chuckled and the horrible face went away. "He was much more handsome as a teen," he commented, and the face from the diary appeared.

"Your brother?" Yuna asked from behind them.

Voldemort's teen-aged face disappeared and the friends turned. "My nemesis," Harry replied. "Have you decided?"

She swallowed and nodded. "I know you don't like him, and you have your reasons, but until I find a reason of my own, I think I will agree to this marriage. Anything to bring joy to Spira."

Harry inclined his head. "It is your choice, Yuna."

Yuna frowned. "But you don't approve of it."

Harry sighed. "I... do not think it wise," he decided. "But I have done many unwise things myself, and so it seems foolish to tell you you can't. We must all make our own choices and, thereby, our own mistakes. It is the joy of being human."

"I understand," Yuna replied. "We should go, I suppose, so I can talk to Maester Seymour again."

"Of course," Harry agreed. But before he left, he turned back one last time for a look at his two best friends, standing there and waving at him with smiles on faces untouched by war. "Good-bye, guys," he whispered. "I miss you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I feel it's only fair to warn you that, from here on out, the plot will be deviating a fair bit from the actual game. See, I've been fond of Seymour since reading [Shivani](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Shivani)'s [Kaleidoscope](http://ff.grazhir.com/ks/) a bit over a year ago, so I don't really want to kill him. So Jyscal won't be coming back from the Farplane, and the party won't have a reason to actually kill him, though they won't suddenly start liking him, either.  
> You'll start seeing these changes next chapter, but I thought I should warn everyone, just because. ^.~


	7. Macalania & Bevelle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a lemon – a sex scene, for those without the knowledge of the term – near the end of this chapter. Those of you familiar with the canon of the game should be able to guess which scene this occurs in. For those of you who aren't: it happens when Yuna leaves Harry and Tidus alone by the pool.

It turned out that Seymour had gone ahead to Macalania Temple for some sort of business, so they agreed to continue on their journey and meet him there.

Rikku got more and more nervous as they neared the exit to the Thunder Plains. At the first rumble of thunder once they'd reached the plains, she squeaked and grabbed on to Tidus' arm, inadvertently bringing everyone's attention to her.

"Rikku, are you... okay?" Tidus asked, mentally debating whether he would be more likely to keep his arm if she kept hold of it or if he tried to pry her off.

Rikku turned to him with wide eyes. "I... I think I might have left something in Guadosalam."

"Nice knowing you," Auron intoned, then started off across the plains.

Everyone else shot the Al Bhed worried looks and continued after the unsent.

Harry shook his head at their party and stepped closer to his two guardians. "What is it?"

Rikku looked between the two, then whispered, "I'm afraid of lightning and thunder." Then she shrieked and tightened her grip on Tidus' arm as a bolt fell near them.

Harry eyed the storm with a frown. "I can't say I'm fond of it, either," he told her. "Would you like me to try deafening you to the sounds of the thunder? It won't be permanent, but I'm afraid we do have to go through here, and I'd rather you didn't have a death grip on Tidus' sword arm the whole way."

Rikku flinched as lightning hit near them again and nodded. "Please?" she whispered.

Harry nodded. "Until we get past the lightning and I can take this off, I want you to stick close to either Tidus or myself, understand? You won't be able to hear anything." When Rikku nodded her understanding, Harry cast his spell.

Rikku took a few moments to situate herself, and would still jump at the lightning, but she loosened her death grip on Tidus' arm and they were able to catch up with their party without further incident.

"Will Rikku be okay?" Yuna asked Harry once they'd caught up.

Harry glanced back at the Al Bhed and sighed. "I deafened her, and it seems to be helping, but the lightning scares her. I believe there's a Travel Agency in the middle of the plains?"

Yuna nodded. "You think we should stop there?"

Harry smiled grimly. "I could blind her as well as deafen her, but then she'd really be a liability. The lightning is still bothering her, and I think it might help to take a break in a building that reminds her of home."

Yuna nodded again. "I'll let the others know."

"Thanks," Harry replied, then slowed down so Tidus and Rikku could catch back up with him.

"What was that about?" Tidus asked.

"We're going to stop at the Travel Agency to take a break," Harry replied. "How's she holding up?"

Tidus smiled wryly. "I've about lost all feeling in my arm, but she seems to be holding herself together pretty well, otherwise."

Harry eyed the nervous girl and sighed. "At least she switched arms?" he half asked. Tidus just shook his head.

They stopped at the Travel Agency, as promised, when they reached it. Auron seemed inclined to keep going, so Harry cheerfully told him, "Well, we're stopping, and I think Yuna intends to as well. You can keep going, if you really want, but I think you'll be on your own."

After a ten minute break, they all got their things together and headed back outside. They had to pause for a moment when one of Rikku's shirt tails got caught in the door and Harry and Tidus turned to help her free it. During that brief moment, a photographer snapped a photo of the group. Once Rikku was freed, they were finally on their way again, with Rikku attaching herself to Harry instead of Tidus, who seemed quite pleased by the break.

"I had a question I wanted to ask Yuna, will you two be okay?" Tidus asked Harry shortly after they'd left the Agency.

"We should be fine. I'll shout if we run into trouble," Harry promised.

Tidus nodded, then looked at Rikku and motioned to himself, then up where Yuna was walking. The Al Bhed nodded her understanding, so Tidus moved forward to the rest of the group, casually skipping out of the way of a bolt of lightning. Back with Harry, Rikku squeaked at the close call and tightened her hold on her summoner's arm.

Tidus finally caught up with Yuna and said, "Can I ask you something?"

Yuna blinked at him and nodded. "Certainly."

"Do you really want to spend the rest of your life with Seymour?"

Yuna frowned and said, "Huh?"

Tidus sighed. "I know you originally set out with the knowledge that the journey would end in your death, but now we're trying to find a way to defeat Sin for good, right? So you might not have to die. Marrying Seymour now might give Spira something to be excited about for a while, but you'll probably have to live with him for the rest of your life."

Yuna stared at him for a long moment, clearly surprised. After a moment, she looked back in front of her and commented, "I hadn't even thought about that."

Tidus shrugged. "I figured as much. I mean, it's only been a couple of days since we suggested trying to find another way, right? So you're not used to thinking that you might just survive. That you might have to live with your choices."

Yuna sighed and nodded. "Yeah..."

"Just..." Tidus scratched the back of his head. "Don't rush into this, okay? It's fine to stop and think a bit. None of us will blame you."

Yuna smiled at him. "Thanks, Tidus."

Tidus grinned at her. "That's what friends are for, yeah?"

Yuna gave a short nod. "Yeah."

Tidus nodded and fell back to Harry and Rikku. When Harry cocked an eyebrow at him, he grinned and shrugged. Harry rolled his eyes, then winced as Rikku caught sight of another streak of lightning and tightened her grip on his arm again. Tidus snickered at him, so Harry reached over with his staff and smacked him atop the head.

As soon as they came in sight of Macalania Forest, Rikku let go of Harry's arm and ran ahead of the entire group, hugging the first tree she came to.

Harry sighed. "What part of 'stay near us' didn't she understand?"

Tidus snickered again. "I think she's just too happy to see the end of the plains to care about the fact that she can't hear anything."

Harry shot him a disgruntled look.

Yuna and her guardians reached the Al Bhed first and the female summoner cast Esuna on Rikku. When it didn't work, she tried Dispel, but it didn't work either.

" _Finite Incantatem_ ," Harry intoned, waving his staff, as he and Tidus reached the rest of the party.

"Much better!" Rikku decided, bouncing happily from foot to foot.

"What... was that?" Yuna asked softly.

Harry sighed. "Old magic, the sort that's been lost to the world. I learned a bit in my youth. It's just different enough that the magic common today doesn’t really affect it."

"Does that mean your spells could get through a Reflect shield?" Yuna asked.

Harry blinked and shrugged. "Never tried it, but probably. Why?"

"It would be wonderful to get a Cure spell through a Reflect," Yuna replied.

Harry grimaced. "Well, even if it's possible, I don't know any healing spells, so I'm afraid I can't test it." He smiled sheepishly. "I paid more attention to the offensive spells, rather than broadening my repertoire."

"Well, it was worth wondering," Yuna said.

"Should we head on to Macalania Temple?" Auron suggested.

"Oh. Yes," Yuna said, and once again took the lead.

"Any particular reason why you're suddenly so determined to keep us going?" Harry asked the unsent as they all fell in behind the female summoner.

"He's probably nervous about what Seymour wants," Rikku cheerfully suggested.

Auron glared at her, but the cheerful girl refused to be cowed and just kept skipping along.

Harry sighed. "Rikku..."

Rikku smiled at him and stuck her tongue out at Auron.

"Well, I know _I_ am worried," Tidus commented softly. "I haven't heard a lot of good things about Yevon and its maesters. Even less good about Seymour."

"It's fishy," Harry agreed, eyeing the group ahead of them with a frown. "Nev said Jessica was worried about his continued attempt for power. There aren't many positions that have more power than a maester, but he must have found something, if he's asking Yuna to marry him. Men like him rarely act without ulterior motives." He glanced over at the silent unsent. "Any thoughts, Sir Auron?"

Auron grunted and shook his head. "None. Perhaps he really is just wedding her to boost the morale of Spira – it would certainly make him more popular."

"Perhaps," Harry agreed. "But I can't quite shake the feeling that we're missing something."

"Aren't we always?" Rikku complained.

"Yup," Tidus replied. "Doesn't it suck?"

Harry and Auron just sighed.

-0-0-0-

At the exit to Macalania Temple, Auron stopped them, saying, "There's something here you need to see," to Tidus.

The party traded confused looks while the unsent man cut a crystal tree, then led them into a clearing.

"What–?" Tidus said, awed, as the rest of the party filed in behind him and Auron.

"This is what spheres are made of," Auron explained.

"Spheres?" Tidus parroted, but before anyone could consider answering him, a great blob came up out of the water and they were forced to face it.

Once the fiend was gone, Auron stepped forward and picked up a sphere, which he handed to Tidus. "Jecht left this here, ten years ago. Play it back," Auron ordered.

"Jecht?" Yuna said, eyes wide.

Scowling, Tidus found the trigger for the sphere and they all watched Jecht's misadventures, as it were, in pissing Auron off. When it turned off the first time, he made to throw it back in the pond that Auron had found it in, but Harry grabbed his arm. "Harry," the teen ground out, "let me go."

"Sometimes," Harry said softly, "people do horrible things, and they hurt us, make us want to hate them." He shook his head. "There's more on the sphere, Tidus. Perhaps this will heal some wounds."

"I don't _want_ to like him," Tidus hissed. "He was a bastard!"

Harry smiled. "But he was still your father."

Tidus swallowed and looked away from the bright green eyes. Almost as soon as he looked again at the sphere, it lit up and showed the last scene, of Jecht leaving him one last goodbye.

 _"Anyway... I believe in you. Be good. Goodbye,"_ Jecht said, then the sphere shut off again.

Tidus swallowed again. "It's too late," he whispered to the sphere. "You're too late."

"He was serious," Auron said.

"I don't care if he was serious or not!" Tidus snapped, turning on the man. "It was too little, too late! And I don't care!" So saying, he tossed the sphere on the ground and ran from the clearing.

Harry met Rikku's gaze briefly, then ran after his guardian while the Al Bhed quietly picked the sphere up off the ground and put it in her small pack.

"Tidus is Sir Jecht's son?" Yuna asked.

Auron looked at the young woman and nodded. "He is."

"Well, why does he hate Sir Jecht so much, then? He was such a kind man..."

"We're not always the same person with strangers as we are with family," Lulu commented gently.

"Jecht's travels in Spira changed him," Auron offered sombrely. "By the time we reached this clearing, he'd already accepted that he would never see his family again." He smiled grimly. "He'd also given up drinking, which had caused a lot of strife between himself and Tidus, from what he said."

Yuna looked at where Tidus and Harry had gone. "Will they..."

"They'll catch up," Rikku said. "We should head on to the temple."

"Shouldn't you be with them?" Wakka demanded. "What if a fiend attacks?"

Rikku shrugged. "Harry and Tidus can take care of themselves," she informed him, then led the way back to the main path.

-0-0-0-

Harry finally found Tidus sitting a little ways down the path back to the Thunder Plains and Bevelle. The teen was hunched over his knees and was staring at a tree across the path from him.

Harry sighed and sat down next to the young man. "When I first got to the magical world, everyone always told me my father was a wonderful, brilliant man. He was top of most of his classes and had a few equally brilliant friends. He was everything my world expected a Gryffindor – the House he'd been sorted into during school – to be. I didn't find out until I was fifteen that if I'd actually ever met him as a teenager, I would have hated him."

Harry glanced over at Tidus and found the teen was watching him with red eyes. He smiled sadly and said, "I told you that the family that brought me up hated me, right? Well, my cousin would always bully me, and my dad was just like Dudley. He and his friends took pleasure in ganging up on one of their yearmates who they hated. That man they bullied ended up being one of my professors, and he made my life a living hell. He also saved my life more times than I can count."

Tidus sighed and looked away. "What does this have to do with my old man?"

Harry shrugged. "Maybe he was a shitty father, but he was also willing to sacrifice himself to give a world he'd only spent a few months in ten years of freedom. Doesn't that show that he wasn't such a horrible person, in the end?"

Tidus swallowed. "I don't _want_ to like him."

"Then don't," Harry suggested. "No one says you have to like him to accept that he was, in the end, a good man." He set a hand on Tidus' shoulder and squeezed it gently. "And, maybe, you can even accept that he tried, in the end, to love you. Because I truly think he did. He just didn't know how to say it."

Tidus swallowed again and dragged a hand over his eyes.

Harry firmly dragged the other's head down to his own shoulder and wrapped his arms around Tidus' waist. "I won't think any less of you if you cry."

So Tidus did.

-0-0-0-

When Tidus and Harry finally met up with the rest of the party, Yuna had gone ahead with Tromell. With the last two missing members back, they set off across the icy paths that crossed the frozen lake to the temple.

Travelling near the back, as they often did, Rikku turned to Tidus and held out the sphere he'd thrown. "I wasn't sure if you'd want to keep this or not."

Tidus took the sphere gingerly and stared down at it. When he looked at his two companions, they were both smiling at him. "I'll decide later," he finally said, putting it in his own pack. "Thanks, Rikku."

Rikku nodded cheerfully. "And for now on, no more gloomy looks! This whole party has been so _down_ lately!" she shouted, getting a few half-hearted chuckles from ahead of them.

"I have a sinking feeling that's my fault," Harry commented with a cocked eyebrow. "I would try a joke, but I'm afraid they tend to fall rather flat, usually."

"Does that mean it's my job to get a smile on everyone's faces?" Rikku asked.

"It's official. Have at," Harry replied.

Rikku's maniacal grin as she skipped off to join the rest of the party almost made Harry wish he hadn't agreed to it.

Tidus chuckled next to him and shook his head. When Harry looked at him curiously, the guardian said, "It's good to see how she's back to her old self."

"Ah, that's the wonderful thing about the human spirit," Harry agreed. "It can bounce back from any setback."

"Even me?" Tidus asked quietly.

Harry smiled at him. "Tidus, you're still human."

Tidus looked down at his feet with a smile. "I suppose I am."

-0-0-0-

When they got to temple, they found out that Yuna had gone ahead to the Cloister of Trials with Seymour. "It happens," Rikku commented to a disgruntled Kimahri and Wakka.

"You can say that, you two never let him go anywhere alone, ya?" Wakka snapped back at her.

"Considering he keeps fainting–"

"I don't _faint_!" Harry called, almost used to the discussion now.

"–following him everywhere is _very_ important," Tidus finished, shooting a grin at Harry.

Harry huffed and walked over to O'aka to see what the merchant was selling. Auron came over to join him and the two haggled prices with the merchant for a moment. Once they'd restocked their restorative items and gotten Rikku a new shield, since hers had taken a beating in the woods, O'aka said, "I hear Lady Yuna is still going to continue her journey, ah? I wonder if that means she and Maester Seymour will fight Sin together? Just like Lady Yunalesca and Lord Zaon!"

Harry froze in the middle of thanking the merchant, Seymour's intentions clicking into place. "Fuck!" he shouted, then ran for the door to the Trials.

"Harry?!"

"What happened?" Tidus asked of O'aka and Auron, both of whom looked rather startled.

"I'm not sure," O'aka replied. "I just said I'd heard that Lady Yuna would keep journeying even though she's marrying Maester Seymour. So they'd be like Lady Yunalesca and Lord Zaon."

Tidus shook his head, confused, and looked up at Auron. "Translation?"

"Yunalesca was the first summoner to defeat Sin," Auron explained. "Lord Zaon was her husband, and her only guardian."

"Oh no," Rikku moaned.

"Oh, yes," Tidus growled. "Come on, we have to keep Yuna from marrying Seymour!" he decided, then turned to hurry after Harry.

"What are we missing?" Wakka demanded of Rikku before the girl could run after her fellow guardian.

Rikku wrung her hands, then said, "This is one of those things Harry didn't want to tell you. Please, just... We have to stop Yunie!" She ran past the others and up the stairs.

The others looked at Auron, who shrugged. "We might as well go," the older man decided, then led the group up, leaving behind a lot of very confused people.

-0-0-0-

Harry ran into the outer chamber and took a moment to catch his breath while Yuna, Seymour and the Guado guards who followed Seymour around all turned to stare at him. "Yuna, you're not marrying him," he finally managed.

"What?" Yuna asked.

"You presume to order her around?" Seymour inquired with a warning note in his voice.

Harry shook his head. "Oh, bugger off, Seymour. She doesn't intend to call the Final Aeon, anyway, so you don't really want to marry her."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Yuna demanded as Tidus and Rikku rushed in behind Harry, quickly moving to flank their summoner, in case it was needed.

Harry just smiled at the angry understanding blooming in Seymour's eyes. "Then what's the point of the pilgrimage?" the half-Guado demanded.

"We're going to destroy Sin for good," Tidus said.

"Without sacrificing _anyone_ ," Rikku agreed.

"It will never work," Seymour replied as the rest of the party came running in.

"It will," Yuna insisted, uncertain what was actually going on, but refusing to be left out of the argument.

"You believe this foolishness?" Seymour inquired of her.

"I want to get rid of Sin," Yuna replied. "For good."

"What I don't get," Harry commented, "is _why_."

Seymour just glared.

"Why don't you leave?" Tidus suggested. "What you're looking for isn't here."

Seymour motioned to his guards and sent them ahead so they could clear the way for him. Before he left, he looked to Yuna and said, "I will still be here when you remember what a summoner's duty is."

Once the Guado were gone and the door had closed behind them, Yuna looked at Harry and demanded, "What just happened?!"

"Rikku said it was one of those things Harry hasn't told us yet," Wakka gripped.

"You said something about the Final Aeon," Yuna said.

Harry sighed. "There is no Final Aeon," he said at last. Auron started to take a step forward, but stopped when Tidus turned to glare at him. "The Final Aeon is created by sacrificing a guardian with whom the summoner has some sort of bond. That aeon is used to face down Sin and, in the end, kills the summoner before becoming a part of Sin." He looked up at the paling Yuna. "Sin is one of the guardians of the High Summoner. Always."

"Jecht," Tidus said quietly, "is Sin right now."

"No..." Yuna whispered, shaking her head.

"It's true," Auron offered, frowning at the three comrades who had already known. "I was there when Braska used Jecht as his summoning."

"I need to speak to the fayth," Harry said into the silence, then moved past Yuna to go into the inner room with his two guardians.

As soon as the door closed, a vibrant young woman appeared over the crystal and demanded, "What the _hell_ is going on, Harry Potter?!"

Harry cocked an eyebrow at the woman who was almost his wife in a previous life and sat next to the crystal. "I'm not sure I understand the question."

"That poor girl comes in here, torn about whether or not she should marry Jessica's son, and then I hear shouting! If you don't tell me what's going on, I won't grant you Shiva!"

Harry sighed and leaned back against the wall. "Seymour wants to become part of Sin by being the Final Summoning. He was going to use a marriage to Yuna as the means to an end. Why he'd want to join with Sin, I haven't the faintest. That was the yelling. And I just told the rest of those children the truth about the Final Summoning," he finished, waving his hand at the door. "Are you happy?"

The woman huffed and sat on her crystal in front of Harry. "No, I'm not," she informed him, then looked over her shoulder at the two wide-eyed guardians. "Wotcher! I'm Ginny Weasley!"

"Uh, hi," Tidus responded uncertainly.

Rikku managed a nervous smile.

Ginny turned back to Harry. "Did you tell the boy?"

Harry cocked an eyebrow at her. "Yes, _mum_. I've bared all my secrets to those two. Nev's slip made Tidus curious, so I had to tell him. Feel free to give the sod a clap on the back for me." Rikku looked over at Tidus curiously, but at the pained expression on his face decided it wasn't a good idea to ask.

"Aren't you grumpy," Ginny commented.

"I have had a very long day," the summoner replied. "Would you please grant me Shiva so I can crash in the nearest bed?"

Ginny tapped her chin with a finger. "Oh, I suppose," she agreed, then disappeared as a ghostly form shot into Harry.

"Harry!" Tidus and Rikku shouted as the summoner slumped over.

Ginny reappeared as the two teens reached the prone form. "Hmm... Might have used a little too much power."

"What did you do to him?" Tidus demanded.

Ginny sighed. "Good Merlin, you two are suspicious. I only overpowered the aeon a bit. Harry will probably thank me later, since it means those friends of yours can't ask him questions." She smiled cheerfully. "He might have a bit of a headache tomorrow, though!"

Rikku and Tidus traded looks, both equally certain that the woman was crazy. Without another word to the amused ghostly form, Tidus picked Harry up and the two guardians left the chamber.

Behind them, Ginny chuckled. "Ah, they're good for you, Harry. Everything we could have wanted them to be."

-0-0-0-

When they'd exited the fayth's chamber, the others all had questions, but they died on their lips at the sight of the unconscious Harry.

"Is he okay?" Yuna asked.

"It's been a long day," Rikku supplied as Tidus stalked from the chamber. "Perhaps we should rest here for the night? I doubt Harry's going anywhere."

"Oh! That would be for the best, I think," Yuna agreed.

The group went out to the main part of the temple and got rooms for the night. Tidus had already gotten a room for him and Harry and, after she'd put her things in the room she was sharing with Lulu and Yuna, Rikku walked over and knocked on the door. "Tidus?"

"Come in," Tidus replied.

Rikku poked her head in and frowned at the exhausted look on her friend's face. "You need sleep too, you know."

Tidus shrugged. "I don't want to leave him to wake up alone."

Rikku sighed and shook her head. "He won't be alone, you idiot. You'll still be in the room with him."

"Yeah, but..." Tidus nodded at the only other bed in the room, which was against the far wall. "I'll be so far away. What if he needs something?"

Rikku rolled her eyes and stepped over to the other guardian. "Why are you men always so stupid? Look, just get in the same bed, okay? I doubt he'd care, and then you'll be there when he wakes, so he won't have to worry about trying to find you."

"But–"

"Tidus! Get into that bed!" Rikku hissed, pointing behind her.

Tidus sighed and did as she ordered. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was fast asleep.

Rikku sighed and walked over to tuck them in, shaking her head. "Idiot," she told the sleeping guardian fondly, then turned and left the room.

-0-0-0-

Harry woke to warm arms holding him. Quite comfortable, he snuggled deeper into the embrace. He grumbled a bit when something cold knocked him in the forehead and opened his eyes to blearily glare at the offending item.

It took Harry a moment to recognise Tidus' necklace, but once he had he also realised who was holding him and blinked up at the younger man's face. He relaxed a bit when he saw that Tidus was still asleep, but didn't want to chance freaking him out, so tried moving out of the embrace.

Tidus, of course, woke at the movement, and blinked down at Harry. "Hm? Harry?"

Harry had frozen in place as soon as he realised the guardian was waking. "Uhm, yeah," he managed.

Tidus nodded sleepily and closed his eyes again.

Harry considered his position for a long moment. Tidus clearly hadn't cared about their rather compromising position – though that might change when he finally woke up – and Harry was actually pretty comfortable. Far more comfortable than he'd even been in Ginny's arms.

'...Where the hell did _that_ thought come from?'

Harry shook his head and closed his eyes. Clearly he wasn't fully awake yet. Best to get back to sleep.

-0-0-0-

Tidus woke when the door opened and blinked blearily up at where Rikku was sneaking into the room. He grunted at her and let his head fall back against the pillow in a more comfortable position.

Rikku giggled and walked closer to the bed. "Hey. Everyone else is up."

"So?" Tidus complained.

"You two are all they're waiting on. We've only got the temple in Bevelle left."

Tidus sighed and glanced up to glare at Rikku again. "Did they send you to make us get up?"

Rikku quickly covered a grin, shaking her head. "No. Auron was going to come, but I beat him to it. If I take too long, though, he'll still come."

Tidus groaned. "That..." Rikku giggled again. "Yeah, fine, I'm up," he said, then looked down at where Harry was curled against his chest. "Hey, Harry. Come on. Time to get up."

"Jest five more minutes, Ron," Harry grumbled, snuggling closer to Tidus.

Tidus looked up at Rikku helplessly, making the girl giggle again. "You could tickle him," the Al Bhed suggested.

Tidus considered the option, then retracted his arms enough from the hug to attack Harry's sides with his fingers.

Harry laughed helplessly and thrashed around on the bed until Tidus finally stopped, looking superior, while Rikku giggled in the background. Harry pouted at his two guardians and demanded, "What that _really_ necessary?"

"It was if you didn't want Auron coming to wake you," Tidus cheerfully informed the summoner.

Harry shuddered and rubbed at his arms. "No thanks. I don't want a dead man anywhere near me while I'm sleeping; I'll get nightmares."

Tidus and Rikku laughed at him, then helped him out of bed. "You okay?" Tidus asked in concern when Harry swayed slightly on his feet.

Harry borrowed Tidus' shoulder for a moment to regain his balance and nodded. "Still a little tired," he admitted, rubbing at his forehead. "Bloody hell, Gin. Did you have to put so much of a punch behind that?" he complained to no one.

Rikku pulled a potion out of her pack and got Harry to take it while Tidus gathered up their things. Once they were all ready to go, they walked over to the door and opened it, only to find Auron and Yuna on the other side, the former ready to knock.

"At least _someone_ thinks to knock," Tidus commented to Rikku, who just grinned knowingly.

Harry rolled his eyes at the two guardians and slipped out the door to stand next to Yuna. "So, Bevelle?"

Yuna nodded, though she looked worried. "Yes," she agreed.

The group started down the hall, Tidus and Rikku bickering pointlessly. Auron looked like he might want to tell them off, but Harry shook his head at him. If the teens wanted to argue about pointless things, who were they to deny them their fun?

Just before they reached the small dining room where the rest of the guardians were, Yuna stopped and turned to look at Harry. "Is it true? What you said last night?"

Harry sighed. "Yuna, I may keep things from you for your own sanity, but I never have and never will lie to you. I hate secrets, as I told you next to the Moonflow, but I hate lies even more."

Yuna looked away. "I'm sorry."

Harry sighed again and rested a hand on Yuna's shoulder gently. "So am I," he replied, then turned and walked into the dining room.

As soon as Harry joined them, Rikku walked over to him with a few pastries and stood over him as he ate them with a grin. At the table, Tidus was cheerfully nibbling on the food Rikku had forced on him before.

-0-0-0-

Bevelle was as vibrant as ever, but the party ignored it in favour of getting to the temple and collecting the aeon from there. Once both Harry and Yuna had Bahamut, the group made their way back through the Cloister of Trials and out of the palace. On the steps, Seymour and Maester Kinoc waited for them with a party of armed guards.

"Maester Seymour tells me you have decided to end your pilgrimage, Lady Yuna," Kinoc commented. "And, yet, you continue to go to the temples. Why is that?"

Yuna swallowed and stepped forward, looking determined. "I haven't ended my pilgrimage, Maester Kinoc, I have simply decided to find another way to defeat Sin – a way that doesn't require the Final Summoning."

"There is no other way," Seymour commented.

"There _must_ be!" Yuna replied, half-pleading.

"There's always another way," Harry said softly. "You simply have to find it."

"Ah, the other summoner," Kinoc said, smiling nastily at Harry. "The one not on any of our records."

Yuna and her party turned to Harry with wide eyes and gasps. Harry just smiled and inclined his head. "No, I don't suppose I am."

"Harry..." Yuna whispered.

"This man has been feeding Lady Yuna lies," Seymour said. "He's trying to destroy Spira's best chance for the Calm!"

The warrior monks all cocked their guns and pointed them at Harry and the two guardians who stood firmly at his side.

"Trust me," Harry whispered to his two friends.

"FIRE!"

Just before the bullets were to hit the three friends, a shield of fire sprang up around them and phoenix song filled the air. The monks and Yuna's party watched on in awe as a phoenix landed lightly on Harry's arm. Auron let out a quiet curse at the sight of the aeon, while the two maesters gaped.

"That aeon has been lost since the last Calm!" Kinoc cried.

Harry cocked an eyebrow at the two men and looked curiously at his aeon. "So this is _your_ fault, hm?"

Phoenix cooed happily and rubbed his head against Harry's cheek.

"Bloody bugger," Harry said fondly, then looked back at those on the steps. "Clearly, Phoenix was only lost to those who have let their hearts fill with power and want. Have the maesters truly forgotten the real reason behind the pilgrimages? The need to destroy Sin?"

"That is what we're asking you," Seymour spat while Kinoc still stared at the flaming bird on the summoner's arm.

"The pilgrimage was never meant to end in death," Harry said softly. "But when Yunalesca reached Zanarkand, where the strongest aeon was said to rest, there was nothing there, and she used her husband in its stead. When they faced Sin together, Zaon turned and killed her, and was taken into Sin. Sin got a taste for the power of the aeons, and the cycle continues. All because one woman lost her temper and killed her husband for a chance at peace."

"She did it because there was no other way," Seymour insisted.

Harry cocked his head to one side. "There is always another way," he repeated.

Kinoc cleared his throat. "Let the summoners pass," he told the warrior monks.

"What?!" Seymour snapped as the monks lowered their guns and stepped out of the party's way. "But we must stop them! They jeopardise everything!"

"There are other summoners," Kinoc whispered, "who can perform the Final Summoning, if Lady Yuna and Lord Harry cannot find another way."

Seymour looked furious as the party stepped past them, but he made no move to complain again.

-0-0-0-

They found a small clearing in Macalania Woods and agreed to camp there, rather than start across the Calm Lands and be stuck somewhere in the middle at night. Once they had a fire going, Yuna stepped over to Harry and said, "Could we...talk?"

Harry nodded and the two went across the main road through the woods to a spring on the other side. There, the two sat on the edge of the water.

"I've never seen that aeon before," Yuna commented.

Harry nodded. "And nor will you. The fayth that granted Phoenix is..." He swallowed and stood, grabbing randomly for a stone he could skip across the water.

"But, if the fayth is gone, how can you call it?" Yuna asked.

Harry shook his head. "Because Phoenix lets me. These aeons... sometimes they have minds of their own." He smiled at her sadly. "Actually, they always seem to have minds of their own. They listen to us, the summoners, but they can still think for themselves. And, sometimes, they do things even their fayth don't expect."

Yuna sighed and wrapped her arms around her knees. "You talk like you know," she said, eyeing Harry curiously. When the young man paused in throwing another stone, she asked, "Will you tell me? Where you came from? Why you know so much?"

Harry sighed and tossed the stone. "Do you really want to know, Yuna?"

"Yes."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. "My full name is Harry Potter, and I was born over five thousand years ago." He glanced at her, smiling sadly at the startled look on her face. "When I was born, summoners and aeons had been lost to the centuries, and we used a different sort of magic than is used now." He shrugged. "The world was much bigger, too. But there was a war – there were many wars, actually, but the first one in which machina was used in the same capacity as you know it today happened when I was about eighteen."

He sat back down next to the girl, who was completely enthralled by the story and not the least bit disbelieving. "The man who started the war decimated my homeland, and I and a few friends were all that was left, running around in the ruins. We came across a record of summoners and aeons, and managed to find the way to make ourselves fayth. Three of my friends became fayth – you know them today as Valefor, Ixion and Shiva – and I and my other two friends used their powers to defeat the man who had destroyed everything. But my two friends died." He sighed. "I became a fayth, and my aeon is Phoenix." He looked back over at her. "I'm the only person who can use him now, because he's a part of me."

Yuna nodded. "I believe you," she said. "But, how are you here? Fayth don't just..."

"Rise from the dead?" Harry suggested, then chuckled when she nodded. "No, they don't. Phoenix did it, though I don't begin to understand how or why." He shrugged. "One of Phoenix's abilities is to bring the dead back to life. Perhaps, that's all he did. Perhaps, he knew this world needed someone who saw past Yevon's lies." He shook his head. "I don't presume to understand the reasoning."

"But..." Yuna paused and looked out over the water. "But, are you happy? Out here, with us?"

Harry honestly considered her question. "Yes," he answered after a long moment. "I am happy. It's not the same as being mentally connected to all the fayth all the time, and sometimes I have to tell you all some unhappy truths," he smiled sadly and received a smile in return, "but I am happy. I'm travelling with friends, again, and it's been so long that I'd almost forgotten what it was like. It's wonderful, being able to see what my world has become, even the bad parts."

Yuna laughed and nodded. "That's good. I was afraid..."

"Yes?"

Yuna bit her lip, then said, "I was afraid you'd leave us, when everything is over. That you'd become a fayth again."

Harry shrugged. "I might," he agreed. "It depends on how things turn out. I've told you I don't enjoy the fame, and being even a small part of bringing about the true destruction of Sin will get me exactly that." He shook his head. "We'll see."

Yuna nodded sadly. "I would... I would like you to stay, and I think the others would as well. But..." She looked over at him. "It's your choice."

Harry quirked a smile at her. "It always is," he agreed.

The two sat there for a long moment in silence before Yuna happened to glance behind them. Tidus stood there, just watching them with such a sad look on his face. Yuna smiled at him and stood. "I think you have another customer," she told Harry.

Harry turned around and blinked at Tidus. "Ah. So I do."

Yuna nodded and walked over to Tidus. "He's all yours," she told him seriously, then smiled and hurried back to the camp-site.

"What was that about?" Tidus asked, sitting in the spot Yuna had just vacated.

"She wanted to know about Phoenix," Harry replied with a shrug. "I ended up telling her what I am."

Tidus nodded. "I figured as much." He glanced at Harry. "I heard, about you maybe becoming a fayth again."

Harry took a deep breath. "I won't," he said, "if you don't want me to."

Tidus turned to him, startled. "What?"

Harry swallowed. "If we defeat Sin, the other fayth will stop dreaming. You..." He looked away. "You'll be gone. There won't be anyone to dream you any more."

Tidus let out a painful breath. "I see," he said.

Harry turned to him. "But, no, listen! If I become a fayth again, I can keep dreaming of you! You can stay here! Have a family!"

"I don't want to stay here without you!" Tidus snapped, shoving Harry in the chest with a finger.

They both looked surprised by the outburst and stared at each other for a long minute before turning back to the water in silence.

After ten minutes of silence, Tidus got up and walked out into the pool. He let out a surprised shout when he realised it was deeper than he thought it was.

"Okay?" Harry asked at the shout.

Tidus nodded. "Yeah. Didn't expect it to be so deep." He grinned. "Wanna swim with me?"

Harry smiled, bemused, and nodded. "I suppose. But isn't it a little silly to be swimming with your shoes on?"

Tidus blinked at him oddly. "No."

Harry chuckled and took his boots off before joining the other in the pool. He lost the bottom a little before Tidus, since he was shorter, and squeaked in surprise.

Tidus snickered at him. "See what I mean?"

Harry muttered some unpleasant words about his guardian under his breath, then swam over to the teen. "Yeah, yeah." He grunted. "Damn, these robes are fucking heavy."

Tidus snickered again. "You wear too much clothing."

"This, you silly blitzballer, is what _all_ male summoners wear."

Tidus rose an eyebrow. "Yeah? Surprised they don't all die from drowning."

Harry huffed grumpily and swam back over to the shore, where he removed all but the pair of jeans he'd worn under the robes since Rikku got them for him. Then he swam back out to Tidus. "Much, _much_ better."

Tidus cleared his throat uncomfortably and looked away from the scarred chest he'd been staring out. "Quite a few scars, there," he managed.

Harry blinked at the teen, then glanced down at his chest and arms, which were riddled with healed wounds from Voldemort and running through the rubble of London. "It happens, when you spend a lot of time in unstable ruins," he said softly, then reached up to trace the faded lightning bolt under his fringe.

Tidus glanced back at him and frowned at the faint scar he hadn't noticed before on the summoner's forehead. "Where..."

Harry blinked up at him, clearly lost in thoughts. "Hm?"

Tidus reached forward and touched the scar that ended between Harry's eyes. "I've never noticed that one before."

"Ah, no, you wouldn't have," Harry agreed. "I cast a spell on it shortly after Voldemort's defeat, since it's what people always used to recognise me. You wouldn't even know it was there unless I brought attention to it."

"Where is it from?" Tidus asked, moving Harry's hair so he could get a better look.

Harry smiled at the teen's curiosity. "Voldemort. When he tried to kill me as a baby and it backfired, it left this mark. Like I said, people used it to recognise me."

Tidus nodded, then grinned. "Don't let Rikku see it," he suggested.

Harry laughed. "I seriously doubt a scar would freak her out, even if it _is_ in the shape of a lightning bolt."

They both laughed at that and Harry leaned back in the water to float.

After a moment, Tidus said, "Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"If... If you were to become a fayth, and dream again, could you just dream me up a new Zanarkand? Or... Oh, some place just for us? Some place without Sin or Yevon?"

Harry considered the request. "Yes," he decided, "I could. If that's what you really wanted."

"I–" Tidus angrily rubbed at his eyes, trying to keep the tears he could feel welling up there from falling. "Rikku's my friend, and I like spending time with her and Yuna and Lulu and Wakka and, sometimes, even Kimahri and Auron. But..." He shook his head.

"Tidus?" Harry said, concerned.

Tidus looked at him with the most torn expression on his face. "You're what makes it all worth it," he said. "You, being there... You're always here, next to me. Ever since I came to Spira, you've been there. Even when I was in Besaid, the only thing I could think about was if you were okay. What you were doing. If I'd ever see you again. I don't... I'd be so lost if you weren't here!"

Harry reached forward and gently touched Tidus' face. "I know," he said.

And then they were kissing, holding on to each other in the pool and trying not to drown.

And when they finally parted for air, they both moved as one to the bank, where Tidus pulled Harry down on top of him and they kissed again, both desperately trying to get the clothing off the other.

When they were both naked, except for Tidus' necklace, they stopped to look each other over, breathing hard. "You're beautiful," Tidus whispered to Harry, smiling when the older man blushed a bright red.

"Yeah, well, you're not too bad to look at yourself," Harry replied hotly.

Tidus laughed and dragged the summoner down for a kiss.

Harry groaned into the kiss at the feeling on his erection being crushed between them, and lightly ran his nails down Tidus' sides. The teen let out a breathless gasp and bucked up against the smaller body.

"I've never..." Tidus whispered.

"Nor have I," Harry replied. "Not with a man, at least."

Tidus groaned. "Do I want to know?" he asked as Harry reached over to grab his staff and cast a spell that would lube them up.

Harry shook his head. "It doesn't matter any more," he replied, then hissed as the spell filled his behind with _cold_ lube. "Bloody, fucking–"

Tidus laughed and pulled the other into another kiss, letting his hands wander down Harry's sides and over his back. The summoner moaned into his mouth as Tidus gently cupped his butt. "How?" he whispered.

Harry, who had heard more than enough about gay sex from Seamus during their sixth year, took Tidus' hand in his and guided it to his arsehole. "Stretch me," he said, then let out a groan as Tidus slipped a finger in to do just that.

The teen was just about to put a third finger in when Harry shook his head and gently, but insistently, took the fingers from his bum. Gritting his teeth, he leaned back and guided Tidus' cock into his hole.

Tidus gasped as he felt his length being surrounded by the warm heat that was Harry. He forcibly kept his hips still, seeing the faint pain on the other's face as Harry finished sliding down him and stopped, breathing hard.

"Are you...?"

Harry nodded, then smiled when he felt the snort from his guardian. "Give me a minute," he whispered.

Tidus reached up and traced a scar on Harry's chest, grinning when the summoner shuddered.

"Okay," Harry decided, and carefully balanced himself against Tidus chest before raising his butt and bringing it back down again.

Tidus groaned as the older man kept moving against him and carefully joined him, jerking his hips up to meet Harry as he came back down.

Harry closed his eyes at the feeling and gasped, digging his nails into Tidus' sides, uncaring that the teen would have marks in the morning. He moaned when a nervous hand reached out and grabbed his cock. He opened his eyes and met Tidus' lust-glazed blue eyes, where a silent question floated. When Harry nodded, the hand on his cock started moving in time with Harry's movements on the other's shaft.

Harry gasped out him partner's name as he came, and groaned when he felt Tidus come inside him. Then, feeling tired, he let himself fall against Tidus' chest and smiled when the muscled arms wrapped around him.

Once their breathing had calmed, Tidus asked, "Is this what it's like to live?"

Harry closed his eyes against tears at the horrible, yet wonderful, question and said, "Tidus, you're already alive. We've..."

"I know," the teen whispered. "But, sometimes, I just need to hear you say it."

Harry nodded and picked up his head so he could meet the bright blue eyes. "You're as alive as I am," the ex-fayth whispered, "and that's all that matters."

Tidus smiled and leaned up to kiss Harry. "Thank you."

Harry smiled. "You're welcome."

Tidus tightened his arms around Harry briefly, then sighed. "We should go back. Before they send someone for us."

Harry laughed. "Like Auron?"

"You want Auron to see you naked?" Tidus shot back.

Harry got a horrified look on his face and firmly poked Tidus in the side. "Stop giving me nightmares!"

Tidus laughed and sat up, Harry in his lap. "I'll try," he promised.

Harry rolled his eyes and carefully got to his feet. "Oh, bugger," he complained, rubbing the bottom of his spine. "I'm _so_ going to feel that in the morning."

Tidus touched his face, eyes wide in concern. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Harry smiled at his guardian and shook his head. "I'm fine," he promised, eyes sparkling. "Just a little sore. It happens."

Tidus scowled. "If you knew then–"

Harry cut him off by dragging the teen's lips to his for a kiss. "If I can't walk," he told his guardian, "then you can carry me. Now shush. We need to wash off."

Tidus huffed, but followed his summoner back into the water, keeping a gentle hand on his shoulder to keep him from falling.

Harry chuckled at him. "Worrywart."

Tidus just rolled his eyes.

They finished washing off and got dressed, Harry casting a few drying spells at them with a grin.

Just before they left the clearing, Tidus pulled off his necklace and put it over Harry's head. When the summoner looked at him in surprise, Tidus grinned and said, "So you don't forget."

Harry smiled ruefully and rubbed his bum. "I doubt I'll be forgetting any time soon," he commented drily.

Tidus chuckled. "Well, so I don't forget, then."

Harry rolled his eyes at the teen and grabbed his hand, tugging him from the clearing. "Idiot," he muttered, making his guardian laugh.


	8. Calm Lands & Mt. Gagazet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Du druca Wakka vyhc, E's cunno E syga res uid du pa cilr y pekudat eteud, pid E'ja ymfyoc rydat res eh dra kysa, yht rec lrynyldan zicd rybbahat du dinh ehdu cilr eh drec vel. E ruhacdmo teth'd ehdaht vun res du pa cilr y zang uh Mt. Gagazet.

Harry woke to the sounds of the camp moving around and Rikku teasing Tidus nearby: "Those are curious scratches, Tidus. Did something happen last night in that pool?"

"Yes, Harry slipped, I caught him," Tidus answered drily.

"But they go up under your shirt!"

"Rikku, we were in the water," Tidus said with a sigh.

"And where's your necklace, eh? You never go anywhere without it!"

"Rikku..."

Harry snickered and glanced over at his two guardians. From the look on Tidus' face, the questioning had been going on for a while. Rikku waggled her eyebrows at Harry and Tidus smacked her, making the girl laugh.

"Oh, you're awake," Yuna said, walking over to where Harry was still laying.

Harry sat up, covering a wince with a well-timed yawn. "Ah, yes. Sorry..." He smiled.

"Don't worry about it," Yuna assured him. "Wakka's still asleep."

Harry glanced over at where the blitzball player was still sleeping away and snickered. "Ah... Lulu's going to kill him, isn't she?" he inquired at the doll the red-head was cuddling.

"Considering he was originally sleeping with her hand," Rikku said gleefully, "I think she might prefer this. But, yeah, she's going to hit him when he gets up."

"If he stays asleep much longer," Yuna commented with mischief twinkling in her eyes, "she might just hit him to wake him up."

"Oh dear," Harry said, shaking his head. He started to stand and almost fell, but three sets of hands reached out to catch him. "I'm _fine_ ," he insisted, even as Yuna, Tidus and Rikku helped him stand properly.

Rikku reached, lightning quick, and found the flash of silver she'd seen in Harry's robes. "Hey, Tidus, I found your necklace!"

Tidus groaned and reached over to smack the necklace out of her hands. "Just... Argh!"

Harry snickered and shook his head at the two guardians. When he moved to walk away from the three sets of hands, they moved to go with him and he rolled his eyes. "I want to pee," he told them, making Yuna blush and let go. When neither Rikku nor Tidus moved, he flailed his arms at them, making them let go. "Away! Yeesh!"

"Remember to shout if you feel a fainting spell coming on!" Rikku called after him jokingly.

Harry rubbed at his face and shook his head at the two guardians as he searched out a spot that was relatively secluded to relieve himself. When he got back to the camp, Tidus and Rikku were waiting with some rolls for breakfast and he took them with an amused look.

Harry was just finishing his last roll when Wakka finally woke up, and was berated by Lulu for stealing her moogle. Harry noticed that no one mentioned what Wakka had _really_ been sleeping with and rolled his eyes in amusement.

Wakka was given a few rolls and the whole party sat around the dead campfire.

"Where do we go from here?" Yuna asked softly. "There's no Final Aeon in Zanarkand, so we don't really need to go there. Do we?"

Harry sighed. "Yunalesca is there," he said. "She's the one who shows the summoners and their 'chosen' guardians how to create a fayth. I know Kinoc said there's always a chance that summoners after us can continue with the way you've got now, but I don't really want to leave that option open to them."

"You want to destroy Yunalesca," Auron said.

Harry nodded. "Perhaps it's just because I'm too attached to my own guardians, but I don't want to see any more guardians sacrificed that way. Especially not if it means they'll have to become the very thing they've spent their lives fighting against."

"But, what if we fail?" Yuna whispered. "What if we can't find a way to defeat Sin for good?"

"Then those who come after us will have to find another way," Harry snapped. "Consider, if we take too long to find a way to defeat Sin, someone else may bring about the Calm, and we'll have to wait another ten years to try our theory."

"And ten years is a long time to wait," Auron agreed darkly.

They all sat in silence for a long moment, only broken by the wind singing through the fossilised trees.

Eventually, Tidus said, "I don't know, yet, how we'll destroy Sin, but I know we need to try. This cycle, as it currently is, cannot continue. It's not..."

"It's not right," Harry offered when the guardian couldn't find the words he wanted. "And it will never end if we don't do something. If _someone_ doesn't do something, and we're going to have to be that someone. Because we're the only ones who know."

"Why can't we just tell everyone else, anyway?" Tidus asked. "Just tell all the summoners and their guardians that it means two of them dying, and the guardian spending time as Sin?"

"Do you honestly think they wouldn't go?" Auron demanded. "It's still ten years of peace."

"And that's the crux of the matter," Harry whispered. "When your people know so little peace, and have so little joy, you'll do anything to bring them that peace, even at the cost of your own life or, worse, your own heart."

Tidus reached over and grasped Harry's shoulder, knowing his friend was speaking from personal experience. Hadn't he and his friends put everything on the line twice to free his home from evil? And, here he was, doing it again.

Yuna swallowed and sat up a little straighter. "We'll continue to Zanarkand," she decided. "I would like to see Lady Yunalesca myself. And there we can make the final decision. One night isn't long enough to think on our options," she said, looking at Harry.

The male summoner inclined his head. "That is acceptable," he agreed.

"Then we should head out," Lulu said, standing. "Before we have to camp in the middle of the Calm Lands."

"Rather," Harry agreed, and they all got up to pack their things.

Half an hour later, the party was heading off towards the Calm Lands. At the ridge overlooking the scarred land, they all stopped to stare, and Lulu murmured, "Long ago, the high summoners fought Sin here. The road ends here. Beyond, there're no towns, no villages. Only endless plains."

"Ah," Harry replied, "but before the summoners used this as a battleground, another battle occurred here, a little over one thousand years ago, a clash between Bevelle and Zanarkand. There used to be a city here, before that battle, named Arcadia. A beautiful city, with gardens and man-made waterfalls." He closed his eyes. "The machina wars ruined a lot of beautiful things, as did the creation of Sin." He glanced at the surprised party. "You saw Seymour's recreation of Zanarkand; it was only one beautiful city destroyed, one of many."

Yuna cleared her throat. "We should keep going."

The party set out again, starting the long trek down the ridge into the plains. On the way, Lulu fell back to walk with Harry and Tidus and commented, "Sometimes, I wonder how you know these things."

Harry smiled and said, "Sometimes, I do too."

Tidus rolled his eyes. "Sometimes," he said to both of them, "I find it easier to just nod and keep walking."

Harry chuckled and Lulu shook her head before joining back up with the rest of Yuna's guardians, who were laughing with the summoner at one of Rikku's jokes.

"There were fayth in Arcadia?" Tidus inquired of his summoner.

Harry's smile turned sad. "Two, but their crystals were destroyed in the battle." He glanced at Tidus. "Well, actually, there is one still intact, mostly because his crystal was stolen by some people from another city early on in the wars. Yojimbo, he was called. His crystal was never taken far from the city, because it was, of course, very heavy. I believe the thieves were from Zanarkand, so we'll probably find the crystal somewhere on Mt. Gagazet."

"Mt. Gagazet?" Tidus asked.

Harry pointed to the towering peaks that cut across the skyline on the far side of the Calm Lands. "Mt Gagazet. It was Zanarkand's greatest defence, and the reason most of the battles between them and Bevelle happened on this side of the mountain. I believe there may also have been a battle in Macalania Woods at one point, but I don't know for sure." He shrugged. "The Ronso, Kimahri's people, live on Mt. Gagazet, now, and they have been known to turn away summoners who they deemed too weak to manage their mountain."

"Do you think they'll turn us away?" Tidus asked.

Harry shook his head with a grin. "Merlin, no. We've proven more than enough times that we can handle anything thrown at us. And, as Auron mentioned that day in Luca, it's rare to see two summoners travelling together, though I believe we're stronger for it."

Tidus nodded. "We cover each others' weaknesses," he agreed. "I mean, Auron is a lot stronger than Kimahri or I, so he hits harder, and Wakka has that stupid ball, which he can use to attack from a distance. And even though we've got two summoners, you study different magic. I mean, we've got Lulu, who studies black magic like you, but you also study a completely different magic from anything in this time. And Rikku..."

Harry chuckled. "Rikku is fast," he offered. "She's quick on her feet and has those brilliant concoctions of hers."

Tidus grinned. "We make a good team."

"For eight people from six rather different cultures and backgrounds, we make a _brilliant_ team," Harry corrected. "Well, as long as we're not arguing about Yevon."

Tidus laughed. "Yevon, the only sore spot in our otherwise amazing companionship."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Tell me about it."

They glanced at each other, then broke out in laughter.

-0-0-0-

They reached the small Al Bhed travel agency near one of the scars just before nightfall. Partway across the plains, they'd realised that they could have made it to the foot of Mt Gagazet, but they would likely be exhausted by the time they got there, and not in a particularly good shape to climb the mountain, even just to the Ronso caves. So they changed their course to the travel agency, which hosted a small guard and spaces for travellers to rest overnight. The Calm Lands were huge, and not many people managed to cross it all in one trip.

They set up camp and shared a supper with a couple who were also travelling the plains. The couple, it turned out, had some family who had been part of a summoner's pilgrimage around the time that High Summoner Braska journeyed to Zanarkand, and one of them had died by a cave between the Calm Lands and Mt. Gagazet. When they mentioned the cave, Lulu had tensed, then asked, "The Cavern of the Stolen Fayth?"

"Yes, that's the one!" the woman said with a bright smile. "Jeffery is buried just outside the entrance, his brother, Jacob, said. Jacob died just last week and his dying wish was for us to go to Jeffery's grave and leave his sword there."

"The Cavern of the Stolen Fayth?" Harry said, frowning. "That wouldn't happen to be where Yojimbo ended up, would it?"

"Oh! Another fayth?" Yuna asked.

Lulu nodded shortly. "Yes."

"We should stop there on our way," Yuna decided.

"I concur," Harry agreed. "Yojimbo isn't the most agreeable fayth, or the most agreeable aeon, for that matter, but he's powerful if he likes you."

Lulu, Wakka, Kimahri and Auron all looked at him a bit oddly, but Yuna nodded and said, "Then we'll stop there tomorrow."

"We could travel with you, if you'd like," Rikku commented to the couple sitting with them.

The man looked the party over, then nodded. "That would be wonderful, I think. We've been riding on chocobos for the journey so far, but those saddles make my behind hurt."

Rikku nodded sagely. "Yeah, I remember that."

"Rikku," Yuna offered, "the only reason you were so sore was because you insisted on running circles around the rest of us like a mad woman."

Rikku laughed nervously. "Oh."

The group laughed and, in ones and twos, started getting up and drifting off to bed.

Finally, only Yuna and Harry were left around the fire, after Harry had firmly shooed his two guardians away.

"Yojimbo..." Yuna murmured. "What's he like?"

Harry cocked his head to one side. "The fayth, or the aeon?"

"Both?"

Harry hummed thoughtfully. "Well, like I said, he is difficult to get along with. He was... ah, a sword for hire, of sorts, in life, if I remember correctly. I believe he was originally from an island that was destroyed early in the Machina Wars and he travelled a lot. He fell in love with a young woman in Arcadia and dedicated his time to trying to get her to love him. Eventually, she told him she would only love a man willing to sacrifice himself to save Spira. So he became a fayth."

Yuna stared at him for a long moment, then giggled.

"Yes?" Harry inquired, cocking an eyebrow.

"I've never heard the story of the fayth, before," the girl offered. "It's not something we're told when we learn to become summoners, and I doubt many people wonder about it, either. We're all too busy trying to finish our pilgrimages."

Harry smiled wryly. "There's not much to do as a fayth, except trade stories of your life." He shrugged. "On the other hand, the fayth are probably the only people in Spira who know the true, unclouded history of this world."

Yuna leaned forward. "What was your world like, then?"

Harry considered her for a long moment, then nodded and told her about Hogwarts, the only home he'd ever known, and the friends he'd made there.

When they were both yawning every five minutes or so, Harry finally shook his head and stood. "We should sleep, if we intend to be of any use tomorrow."

Yuna smiled in agreement and stood as well. "I suppose so."

They banked the fire together and made for the sleeping bags. Just before they parted ways to their separate bags, Yuna said, "Thanks. For telling me."

Harry shrugged. "It's nice to talk about home," he replied. "Not that I can't – Tidus and Rikku know too – but it's always nice to tell someone new. It's the only way those stories will stay alive, and I don't want Hogwarts to die."

Yuna nodded. "Good night."

"Good night," he agreed, then walked over to his bag. He chuckled when he saw that Tidus had positioned their bags a little closer than usual and shook his head at the teen before climbing in. Once there, he entwined his fingers in the hand that lay outside Tidus' bag and closed his eyes to sleep.

-0-0-0-

The next morning, the party and the couple they'd met with started their way across the plains again. They'd been told by the Al Bhed at the travel agency that a chocobo trainer often camped out over there, so the couple would be able to get a couple of the birds to travel back across the plains. Everyone had been relieved at that – they hadn't looked forward to having to find someone to send back with the couple so they could find a chocobo safely.

At the small path between the rolling plains and the towering peaks of Mt. Gagazet, however, a couple of Guado stood. They stepped forward as soon as they saw the party, intentions unfriendly. The guardians closed ranks around their two summoners and the couple they'd travelled with.

"What do you want?" Tidus demanded, sword held out threateningly.

The lead Guado pasted a false smile on his face and said, "Lord Seymour has summoned the Lady Yuna to Bevelle."

"Ya? What for?" Wakka demanded.

The Guado shrugged. "We were not told his intentions, only that he wishes the Lady Yuna's presence."

"Please tell Maester Seymour that I will come and see him after I've travelled to Zanarkand," Yuna said. "I would like to finish my pilgrimage."

The Guado shook his head. "Afraid I can't let you do that, milady. Lord Seymour requests your presence now."

"Well, tell him he has to wait!" Tidus snapped. "Because she's busy right now!"

The Guado smiled nastily. "If she won't come peacefully, we will bring her by force. Lord Seymour's will must be upheld!" he shouted.

The other Guado with him motioned something forward and the party tensed as a large machina creature ambled forward.

"Machina is against the teachings of Yevon!" Wakka shouted.

"Wakka," Harry said tiredly, "I don't think they care."

"I'm sorry we've gotten you involved in this," Yuna said to the couple who were watching the scene unfold with horror.

The man pulled his wife against him protectively. "We don't blame you," he said. "The Guado have always been no good."

"That's the truth," Rikku muttered grumpily, then pulled a couple of things she'd picked up in the Calm Lands out of her belt pouch and mixed it together before tossing it. The resulting 'bang' just about deafened the party, but it seemed to have done a lot more damage to the Guado and their monster. Yuna quickly shot out a healing spell before Tidus and Auron rushed forward, swords gleaming.

The slaughter was relatively quick, after they took out the two Guado, as Rikku was able to jump in and dismantle the machina while the four fighters kept it distracted.

"Something tells me this isn't the last time Seymour will try and talk you out of your choice not to marry him," Harry commented tiredly to Yuna.

Yuna chewed on her lower lip as she looked over the two dead Guado, which Wakka and Tidus were moving closer so one of the summoners could send them. "I have a bad feeling that you're right," she said, then stepped forward to perform the sending.

"All this, because Lady Yuna doesn't wish to marry Maester Seymour?" the woman asked, her husband shaking his head next to her.

Harry shrugged, watching the girl dance. "There's more to it than that," he admitted, "but that's the basics."

"We should head down to the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth," Auron said, coming to stand next to Harry and the couple. "I do not want to be here when the reinforcements come."

"You think there will be reinforcements?" the man asked.

"There's _always_ reinforcements," Harry replied grimly, then nodded at Auron. "And hopefully Yojimbo decides to play nice."

"One can always hope," the unsent said drily, then turned and started herding the various guardians across the bridge and down into the gorge, while Harry collected Yuna and walked with her and the couple behind the guardians.

At the monument to their family, the couple said their goodbyes and wished the party well, then they parted ways.

The Cavern of the Stolen Fayth was dark and rather creepy, with fiends dashing out at them from nowhere.

Just outside the fayth's inner room, they came across a ghostly form, who Lulu seemed to know. Lulu quietly explained to them that the woman had been a summoner, Lady Ginnem, who Lulu had guarded on her pilgrimage. The woman had died in attempting to get Yojimbo.

They quietly battled Ginnem and she was finally freed to go to the Farplane. Harry waved Yuna ahead of him into the chamber of the fayth. Near the entrance, he'd commented that she'd probably have to pay the fayth to be able to get the aeon, so she also took a bag of gil that the fiends they'd fought in the Calm Lands had dropped.

When she came out, grinning, Harry went in with his two guardians. Yojimbo was standing over his crystal, waiting for them. "The girl told me you are trying to rush," he explained to Harry's surprised look.

Harry smiled. "Ah, yes. So we are."

Yojimbo nodded. "There was a lady summoner some years ago who came through here. I gave her my aeon, but she was killed in battle on the mountain."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. "The woman who looked like Rukio?" he clarified, naming the woman in Arcadia that Yojimbo had fallen in love with.

"Yes. If you see her, will you send her? And, perhaps, leave some gil at her monument?" Yojimbo asked.

Harry inclined his head. "I will do my best, my friend."

"That's all I ask," Yojimbo replied, sending his aeon into Harry. "Safe travels, friend."

Harry nodded, then turned and motioned the other two out with him.

The party left the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth and hurried up into the mountain, looking forward to being on the way again.

-0-0-0-

When they reached the open area around which the Ronso lived in caves, there was a small party awaiting them. In the lead was an older Ronso, who Auron murmured was Maester Kelk Ronso.

"Greetings!" Yuna called cheerfully as they met up with the group.

Kelk looked past her to where Harry stood, flanked by his two guardians, and the man's eyes widened. "Yevon be praised," he whispered.

Harry blinked, then smiled. "Ah, Lord Kelk, I don't believe I've seen you in almost thirty years, now."

"You're not thirty years old," Wakka complained. "Are you?"

Harry ignored the blitzball player in favour of walking forward to greet the Ronso leader. "You haven't changed much," he commented.

"You haven't changed at all," the Ronso said. "How came you to this world?"

Harry's lips twitched with a smile. "A phoenix brought me."

Kelk nodded. "Your words have turned Yevon on its side."

"Yevon has been calm for too long. One thousand years is a long time for _any_ organization to remain unchanged, holy order or not."

"Most especially holy order you dislike."

Harry inclined his head.

"Ronso let you and Summoner Yuna pass. When Fayth walk, mortals should get out of way," Kelk declared.

Harry shrugged. "I'm just as mortal as you are, but I do appreciate the sentiment."

Kelk let out a wheezing laughed and moved out of the way, motioning for his people to do the same. "Luck on your journey, Phoenix Fayth."

Harry inclined his head again, then motioned the party to follow him. Just as they were clearing the watching Ronso, two Ronso jumped down in front of the party and insulted Kimahri into a battle. The party moved back and out of the way to clear a space in which the three Ronso could fight.

Wakka, of course, came up behind Harry and demanded, "What was that, down there? Did Maester Kelk call you a fayth?"

Harry eyed the angry blitzballer, as well as the curious black mage and the unsent behind him, then shrugged. "Yes," he said simply.

Lulu and Auron seemed to accept the comment at that, but Wakka just couldn't let it go, demanding, "You even tell lies about the fayth, now?"

Harry took a deep breath and closed his eyes, mentally talking himself out of punching the red-head.

He needn't have bothered, Tidus did it for him.

"Ow!"

"You–!" Tidus threw his hands in the air. "Dammit, Wakka! When are you going to get it through your head that Harry's been telling the truth about everything the whole time?!"

"He can't be a fayth!" Wakka complained.

"And why not?" Rikku demanded.

"Because... Because the fayth are dead, ya? They sacrifice themselves to become fayth!"

Harry sighed and shook his head. "Wakka, let me tell you a bit about my aeon, okay? Its name is Phoenix, and he was created around the memory of a bird by the same name which was thought to be a myth in my time. Phoenixes are able to die and bring themselves back to life out of the ashes of their bodies." He narrowed his eyes at the silent young man. "Yes, I died. I killed myself almost five thousand years ago, because I had nothing else to live for. And now I'm alive again. Why? Who knows! But I have a feeling it had something to do with getting rid of Sin, since _you_ people can't do it yourselves!" he finished angrily, then turned and stalked past the fighting Ronso.

"You know, Wakka, one of these days he's just going to get _so_ fed up with you, he's going to try killing you," Tidus commented darkly. "And, if he does, I might just help him, because you're _really_ starting to get on my nerves." Then the blond hurried past the three Ronso after his summoner, Rikku following.

Lulu sighed. "You know, Wakka, sometimes you just don't know when to keep your mouth shut."

-0-0-0-

"Harry!" Tidus shouted, running up the mountain. The summoner sure could run!

"Tidus!" Rikku called, catching up to the other blond and grabbing his arm to stop him. She pointed just ahead of them, where the summoner was standing over a pile of rocks, looking like he was praying.

The two teens finished the trek up to where Harry had stopped much slower. When they got there, he looked up with a sad smile. "Just helping her pass on," he explained, motioning to the rocks. In the crack, they could see the glint of gil, and both added a few coins from their own purses, recalling Yojimbo's request to their summoner. Harry nodded his thanks, then cast a spell over the coins to keep people from taking them.

The three friends turned and started back up the mountain, Rikku asking, "You don't want to wait for the others?"

Harry shrugged. "We can handle ourselves fine, and I'd rather avoid Wakka for a bit, if you know what I mean?"

Tidus and Rikku nodded in understanding. "Sure," Tidus agreed. "They've got Auron and Kimahri and Lulu, in case they run across something difficult, or Yuna could always summon."

Harry chuckled. "Ah, yes. I do hope, however, that Kimahri doesn't get _too_ beat up fighting those two Ronso..."

"He learned Doom while we were in the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth, didn't he?" Rikku asked.

"Yeah, he should be fine," Tidus agreed. "I doubt those two Ronso could survive Doom."

Harry nodded. "No, I don't suppose they could. I just hope he remembers to use it."

"Kimahri will be _fine_ ," Rikku assured him. "He's no novice fighter."

"No," Harry agreed, "I don't suppose he is."

-0-0-0-

About an hour later, the three companions reached a glowing wall, with bodies in various positions against it. "Wh–what is it?!" Rikku cried.

Harry stepped forward, a pained look on his face, and touched the wall. "These are the fayth of Zanarkand," he murmured. "They sleep here, dreaming the eternal dream, so their world will never be forgotten." He closed his eyes, feeling the ghostly hands reaching out to him. "They're tired," he whispered. "So very, very tired. Tired of their dream, tired of watching Sin bring pain to what is left of Spira..." He stepped away, shaking his head. "We should continue," he told his two guardians.

Tidus gently touched Harry's shoulder, then glanced back at Rikku and jerked his head up the path, silently requesting a moment with the summoner. Rikku watched them for a long moment, then nodded. "I'll go on ahead," she told Harry in an almost-cheerful voice. "Make sure there aren't any booby traps!"

Harry watched her go, then looked at Tidus. The teen was just watching him with a sad smile. Harry tried to smile back, then said, "They're so _tired_..."

"We'll get rid of Sin," Tidus said firmly. "And then they can rest. And you can dream up a place just for the two of us, where your friends and Rikku can come and visit when they want."

Harry nodded, touching the wall of bodies again. "Soon, my friends," he whispered. "Soon, your dreams will come true, and then you can sleep."

Tidus tightened his grip on Harry's shoulder. "We should keep going. Before the others catch up to us."

Harry grimaced. "Ugh. Yeah, I _really_ don't want to deal with Wakka right now, thanks."

Tidus chuckled and led his summoner away from the wall that reminded them both of exactly what they were, and why they didn't belong.

-0-0-0-

The caves quickly gave the friends a headache. "Just like a Cloister of Trials," Rikku had semi-jokingly said as they took turns throwing rocks at a spinning contraption with a light they were supposed to hit in the centre.

"Oh, _brilliant_ ," Harry groused, then got a rock through.

They grabbed the item that appeared, then headed on to the second one, where they all had to simultaneously hit three panels. Once they managed that one, they made for the exit, only to find the rest of the party waiting for them. Wakka looked like he'd been rather severely berated and looked apologetically at Harry, but the dark-haired summoner merely scowled at him before motioning that they should head on to Yuna, who nodded and took the lead once more.

Just outside the caves, a large monster jumped them, but they easily took it down and continued on their way up to the summit. There, they saw Zanarkand.

Tidus gripped Harry's shoulder and stared over the city that spawned the dream world he'd grown up in, feeling sick. He only just registered Harry resting a hand over his and Rikku taking his other hand, hoping she could be of some comfort to her friend.

"Come on," Auron ordered as the rest of the party continued down into the ruins.

"Doesn't look like it's a thousand years old," Tidus commented tightly as they started down after the unsent.

"Zanarkand was very well built," Harry commented carefully. "Not even Sin was able to completely destroy it. The people didn't want him to."

Tidus smiled bitterly, recalling his own Zanarkand. "No, I don't suppose they would have."

Harry and Rikku squeezed his hands, and it helped.


	9. Zanarkand & Sin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO! LEMON BEGINNING OF THIS CHAPTER!! There were a... few complaints about the lemon not being clearly marked a couple chapters ago, but I can't, personally, stand the marks that authors put around lemons for those readers that don't wish to read them, because I feel they block the flow of the story. So I don't do that.  
> For those few who need it, _the lemon starts about three paragraphs after Rikku leaves the boys to go sleep_. There's a paragraph just before the scene break which is Yuna's above stated moment, but otherwise you can probably just skip down past the scene break.  
>  And if you didn't read this note and complain about it in a review, I will mock you.
> 
> (Why people read slash stories and feel the need to skip the slash, I'll never understand. *shrugs* )

At the bottom of the mountain, they set up camp, as the sun was soon to fall, and they didn't want to try picking their way through the ruins with only the light of the pyreflies.

While most of the party sat around the fire, Tidus found himself a spot atop a mound of rubble and dirt from which he could stare out over the city that could have been his home. When Harry came up to join him after waving off the concern of the others, Tidus said, "I know it's not _my_ Zanarkand, but it looks so much like it..."

"And Sin attacked before you came here," Harry agreed softly, "so the fate was about the same."

Tidus brought his knees up to his chest and leaned his chin on it. "It's strange, you know? I know this isn't my home, but it hurts, seeing it. Because, even if it isn't _my_ Zanarkand, it is _theirs_ , and they're the one who made mine..." He shook his head. "Does that make any sense?"

"Yes," Harry said with a small smile. "If their Zanarkand hadn't been destroyed, yours wouldn't have been created, and you wouldn't be here. But, even though this isn't where you grew up, it's still home." He glanced over at the teen.

Tidus sighed and nodded. "Are we spending the night here?"

Harry grimaced. "As Auron so cheerfully pointed out, in parts of the ruins, there is no sunlight, but I think everyone could use a good night's sleep, considering we just climbed a bloody mountain." He huffed. "Bloody dead man seems to think we should just keep going. Sometimes, I wonder if he even _remembers_ what it was like to be alive."

Tidus snickered. "You just don't like him because he makes your skin crawl."

"Oiy! You're not fond of him, either!"

Tidus sighed. "He... He helped Jecht bring me here, and then he told me it was all because Jecht wanted me to kill him." He rubbed at his face. "How can he say that, then try and get me to like my old man again? Showing me that sphere, telling me Jecht meant it, when he told me he believed in me? That..."

Harry grabbed Tidus' free hand in his and squeezed it. "He's rather confusing," the summoner commented neutrally.

"He's mad," Tidus replied, squeezing Harry's hand back.

The two sat there for a long time, watching the pyreflies dance over the ruins in front of them, while the party got ready for bed somewhere behind them.

After a while, Rikku climbed the pile of dirt and peered down at the two men. "Hey, the rest of us are off to bed. Think you can handle the watch for a while?"

"Yeah, we'll probably be up for a while yet, anyway," Harry replied.

Rikku nodded. "Okay. Wake Lulu whenever you're ready for bed, then. She agreed to take the next watch."

"Thanks, Rikku," Harry said, smiling up at her. When the girl glanced worriedly over at the silent Tidus, Harry gave a half smile and nodded. Tidus would be fine, eventually.

Once Rikku had left them and gone to bed herself, Tidus finally stirred, standing and hopping down from the hill to pick at things in the ruins. Harry just watched him, occasionally glancing back at the camp to make sure everything was quiet.

"It's so strange," Tidus commented, coming back to the mound Harry sat on, "this place being so quiet. My Zanarkand was always filled with noise, always had lights on, from the signs or the buildings. This place is so..." He picked up a rock in his hand and tossed it, listening to it clatter down the broken path. "So dead."

Harry just nodded.

"Did this... Was the real Zanarkand always lit up, like mine was?"

Harry considered the question, then nodded slowly. "Almost always. There were a couple hours, just before dawn, when most of the lights were out and the city slept. It was quiet then, almost like this, but then the sun would rise and people would start moving around again, heading to work or school... I believe it was in those hours of quiet that Sin came and destroyed the city. He crept up in the dark outside the city lights, then rose up over it once the lights went out."

Tidus nodded and turned back around to look at the city, the two falling silent and just watching.

Eventually, the teen turned around and held his arms up to Harry, silently requesting for something solid to hold. With one last glance back at the sleeping camp, Harry slipped down into the arms and kissed back when a mouth crushed against his. Tidus pressed him against the mound of dirt, rubbing their crotches together, and Harry wrapped his legs around the teen's waist, threading his fingers into Tidus' hair.

Tidus gasped quietly into Harry's mouth when he came, and the summoner trailed kisses from his mouth down his throat while Tidus caught his breath.

"You haven't..." Tidus breathed, hand trying to find a way through Harry's robes.

Harry shook his head. "I'll be fi–" He gasped as Tidus found his cock and stroked it. "Dammit."

Tidus smiled faintly at him. "You're never fine," he told his summoner, kissing Harry's throat.

Harry groaned and dropped his head against Tidus' shoulder. "Bastard."

Tidus chuckled, then let go of Harry's cock. "Will you come in me?" he half-pleaded. When Harry looked at him with a curious frown, the teen muttered, "I want to know..." He shook his head and motioned over his shoulder at the ruins.

Harry nodded in understanding. "You're real, Tidus," he whispered into the teen's ear as Tidus laid them down on the ground, uncaring that little rocks dug into his back. "You're real to me," Harry added, pulling his robes off as Tidus undid his suspenders.

Tidus grumbled a bit at the mess inside his pants, but Harry just chuckled and used a spell to get rid of it, then, with a mischievous twinkle, cast the same spell he'd used two nights ago, but this time it was Tidus who hissed at the sudden cold in his arse. The teen grumbled briefly before Harry kissed him, sliding two slim fingers into the teen's hole.

Tidus groaned at the intrusion in the beginning, but was shortly moving against the fingers in his arse, eyes closed so he could feel everything. He groaned again when the fingers that had been moving within him left, then tensed when something much bigger started to take their place.

Harry rubbed his hands over the tense abs. "Let go," he ordered. "Relax and trust me."

Tidus nodded and relaxed as much as he could. Harry slid into him slowly, stopping to rub Tidus' stomach every time the teen tensed again.

"You didn't tense," Tidus groaned once Harry was fully inside of him.

"Mmm... One of my dormmates in school was gay and liked to regale us with his various conquests, possibly because it made Ron cringe." Harry smiled down at him. "One thing Seamus liked to stress was to relax, because it hurts a lot more when you do."

"Could have told me," Tidus complained.

Harry nodded. "But the pain means you're here," he replied to the startled teen, then started moving out of Tidus' behind.

Tidus hissed when Harry pushed back in again, but it didn't hurt as much as when he'd first entered, and Tidus felt himself relaxing even more, reaching up to kiss Harry. The position was awkward, since Harry was shorter, but they managed and shared a long kiss as Harry kept up a steady pace of thrusts.

Harry silently tried to angle for that spot Seamus had mentioned once and grinned against Tidus' lips when the teen cried into his mouth, eyes rolling backwards into his head. Gleefully, Harry did it again, and got blunt fingernails dragged down his back for the effort.

It didn't take long for Tidus to come a second time, and Harry came shortly after him, resting his head against the other's heaving chest.

"Okay?" Harry whispered.

"Wonderful," Tidus replied, wrapping his arms around Harry. "Even better if I could get a potion and not have rocks digging into my back."

Harry snorted. "Wimp."

"But you love me," Tidus said, mostly teasing, but with a hint of question.

"Of course I do," Harry replied looking up so he could meet the blond's eyes. "And I wouldn't know what I'd do without you."

Tidus' reply smile was worth the extra effort, and Harry rested his head back on the other's chest. "We should wake Lulu and sleep."

"I'm fine right here," Tidus muttered, tightening his arms around Harry.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Who was just complaining about the rocks?"

"What rocks?" Tidus asked, eyes wide and innocent.

Harry rolled his eyes again. "Do you want to chance Auron finding us here?"

Tidus made a quiet gagging noise, then slowly sat up, bringing Harry up with him so the summoner half sat in his lap. "Yeah, yeah. We can wake Lulu."

Harry kissed the corner of the teen's mouth, then stood, scooping up his robes.

Tidus looked down at the mess on his stomach and commented, "We seem to be missing a helpful pool this time."

Harry glanced back at him and snickered, then picked up his staff and used it to clean them off, wincing at the feeling. "That spell," he informed his younger partner, "wasn't actually meant to clean off humans, but it's the only charm I know of that can without taking off your skin, too."

Tidus scratched the itchy spot the spell left on his stomach. "Right. Mental note, keep a pool around for cleaning off."

Harry laughed and walked over to kiss Tidus again. When the teen rose an eyebrow at him, Harry shrugged and said, "I like kissing you. Shut up."

But Tidus just smiled and kissed him back briefly before putting his shorts back on.

The two walked together over to where Lulu was sleeping and woke her before climbing into their own beds.

A few feet away, Yuna rubbed tiredly at dry eyes and leaned back against the dirt mound the two males had been sitting on originally. A part of her cried for the blond boy who she'd been crushing on since she first saw him in Besaid, but, at the same time, another part danced, because that boy was happy. And Yuna, being the sort of person she was and liking Harry as a friend, decided to just be happy for the two, and ignore that spark of jealousy.

-0-0-0-

The party set out as the sun glowed orange over the water surrounding the ruins, climbing together over precarious pieces of rubble.

They reached the stadium before noon, and Tidus took a moment to look at the building sadly, then they continued to the doorway, where a man awaited them. "Journeyers of the long road, name yourselves," the spectre asked, looking between Yuna and Harry, who led the party at Auron's insistence.

"I am the summoner Yuna," Yuna said, "from the island of Besaid."

"I am the summoner Harry Potter," Harry said, "from Hogwarts School."

The spectre looked surprised at Harry's stated place of origin, but looked them both over, then nodded. "Your eyes show the long roads you have journeyed, some together, some alone," he said, glancing at Harry for the last part. "You have journeyed well. Lady Yunalesca will surely welcome your arrival. Go to her now, and bring your guardians with you."

The party moved past the spectre and into the stadium. Within, pyreflies formed those who had come before them. Lulu and Wakka exclaimed over the guardian of Lady Yocun, while Harry and his two guardians stopped to watch the scene between a young Seymour and his mother, Jessica.

Eventually, they came across the ghostly forms of Auron, Jecht and Braska, making their own way to the resting place of the supposed Final Aeon. The party followed the ghosts, occasionally looking over at Auron or Yuna or Tidus, as if to check on how they were reacting to this moment of the past. For their parts, Auron's face stayed mostly hidden behind his glasses and the neck of his coat, while Yuna wore a slightly sad frown and Tidus scowled.

They worked through the Trials together, then destroyed the Spectral Keeper over the lift down.

They got to the bottom of the lift and wandered in to where the Final Aeon was supposed to have rested, and everyone stared in shock at the cracked crystal.

"Zaon," Harry murmured just as a ghostly form appeared in the room to explain who the Final Aeon had been, and that Lady Yunalesca could show them how the create a new one. Then, the ghost disappeared and a door appeared at the back of the room.

"Let's go," Yuna said softly, and the group went through to a high-ceilinged room with a grand staircase leading up to another door. Through that door, a beautiful woman with long silver hair walked, smiling at them all. "Lady Yunalesca," Yuna murmured.

"Welcome to Zanarkand," Yunalesca said. "I congratulate you, summoner, for you have completed your pilgrimage. I will now bestow upon you that which you seek. The Final Summoning...will be yours. Now, choose the one whom I will change...to become the fayth for the Final Summoning. There must be a bond, between chosen and summoner, for that is what the Final Aeon embodies: the bond between husband and wife, mother and child, or between friends. If that bond is strong enough, its light will conquer Sin." She smiled almost bitterly. "A thousand years ago, I chose my husband Zaon as my fayth–"

"You mean you murdered him," Harry said, stepping forward.

Yunalesca looked at him curiously. "He sacrificed himself willingly to destroy Sin."

"That's not how he told it," Harry replied, eyeing the unsent woman in front of him. "Before you used him against Sin, he had time to tell the fayth the true story, of how you arrived here, expecting to find that same all powerful aeon that was here before Sin destroyed Zanarkand, but it was gone. In your fury, you used Zaon to make a new aeon, hoping your need would make him strong enough to destroy Sin and free what was left of your people. But it wasn't.

"And now Zanarkand, and those few who escaped Bevelle's purging in the years after, are gone. All that's left are the children of the people who brought you so much pain. How horrible it must have been, to see your own home destroyed before your eyes," Harry commented with feeling. "I'm sure, at the beginning, your reasons for staying behind to help the summoners were pure, but they're not any more, are they? Your people are gone, and you probably _revel_ in the knowledge that the same man that once destroyed your world is now destroying theirs."

Yunalesca stared down at the short young man there and slowly smiled. "Death's Flame," she murmured, and Harry flinched at the title his aeon had been given during the wars. "You are a fayth, one of the Old Ones. You gave your strength to those of Zanarkand, you helped kill many people, granted it to many summoners in later years against Sin, and you dare to mock me now?"

Harry closed his eyes. "I fought to end the wars, and that was why Phoenix was granted to your summoners. The lives ended in that conflict were not by my hand. I granted my strength to those seeking to destroy Sin for the same reason, the simple hope that they might be the ones to destroy Sin. But _you_!" Harry looked up at the woman, anger in his eyes. "You have them sacrifice their friends, their family, only to continue the cycle! You _know_ there's no hope, and yet you tell them to do it century after century!"

"I release them from their pain," Yunalesca whispered, eyes bright with madness. "I free them from the bonds of mortality, the pain of losing their loved ones. Once they die, once they become Sin, they feel no pain. It is _kindness_ I grant!"

"Kindness," Harry whispered. "That is no _kindness_ , Yunalesca, that is madness. And a cruelty to those left behind. You live a peaceful life, up here, beyond Mt. Gagazet. You never have the loved ones of those dead summoners or the missing guardians seeking you out. You never hear them crying for all they have lost, praying to statues that those souls have found peace."

"Then kill those, too, and release them from their pain."

"I would rather _die_ than kill those left behind," Harry hissed.

"Then so be it, Death's Flame. Today, you will die." And then she shot a Death spell at Harry.

Harry felt a body knock into him and realised that Tidus was lying on top of him, looking down on him with worry in his eyes. Harry nodded shortly and his guardian helped him to his feet. Standing between them and Yunalesca was the entire party, even Wakka.

"I cried for my father," Yuna said quietly as the party readied their weapons. "I understood why he'd died, and who had killed him. That knowledge gave me the drive I needed to become a summoner, even knowing it meant my own death. It hurts, the feeling of being left behind, but it is also the wonder of being alive. And while I would give anything to keep others from feeling that same pain, I don't believe killing them is the way to do it!"

Auron led the rush up the stairs, his blade cocked and ready. Next to him, a ghostly image of a younger Auron made the same motions, but when the younger Auron got blasted back, the unsent dove to one side and took a slash at Yunalesca from that position.

Harry and Lulu grimly readied their best spells and threw them at the dead woman at the same time as Wakka's ball, which picked up the Firaga and Flare spells and impacted with Yunalesca for an impressive show of fireworks.

They managed to kill her without too much trouble, but she didn't quite die, just reformed, and hit them all with an attack that turned them into zombies.

"Oh, brilliant," Harry muttered, shooting another over-powered Firaga spell at her.

"Yuna!" Lulu shouted, "Use Holy!"

Yuna's eyes lit up and she quickly chanted her spell, killing the woman in one hit.

"Wait," Harry ordered Rikku as the girl made to use a Holy Water on him.

Yunalesca took a new form and gleefully cast a blanket Death spell, which took out Rikku and Yuna, both of whom had already cured themselves of their zombie status.

Harry grabbed a Phoenix Down out of his belt pouch and tossed it at Rikku while, on the other side of the field, Wakka did the same for Yuna. With the two healers back on their feet, they returned to attacking with a vengeance. Yuna managed another Holy spell before she and Rikku were down again with another Death spell, but it was enough, and the rest of the party finished Yunalesca off.

They took a moment to heal themselves before Harry and Yuna walked over to where Yunalesca lay, slowly evaporating.

"Even though you used him against his will," Harry murmured, "Zaon still loved you. I'm sure he's still waiting for you on the Farplane. He might have explored a bit by now; you'll have to forgive him."

Yunalesca smiled bitterly. "My wonderful Zaon..." she whispered.

"Be at peace, now," Yuna said.

The bitter, long dead summoner finally faded from sight, leaving the hall echoing with only the soft talk of their party as a few last minute potions and ethers were passed out.

"Now what?" Yuna asked Harry.

Harry glanced up at the half-destroyed light above them. "I don't know," he murmured. "We have to find a way to destroy Sin, but I..."

"Sin... He eats aeons, right?" Yuna said thoughtfully.

Harry nodded. "I suppose that's one way to say it, yes."

Yuna nodded. "What if... Instead of letting him eat the aeon and leaving, we killed that aeon and let him have another, which we killed, until there were none left?"

Harry turned to stare at the girl, eyes wide. "Kill... the aeons?"

"Yeah. Let Sin take them, then kill them."

Harry rubbed his face with one hand, feeling the party gather around them. Yuna explained her idea to everyone once they'd gathered.

"What would happen to Yevon once there were no more aeons to inhabit?" Rikku asked, startling the rest of the party, who hadn't yet been told about Yevon being a part of Sin.

"That's a _very_ good question," Harry mumbled, still rubbing at his face. "And one I don't have an answer to. I would assume that he would have a physical form that we could attack then, and that would finish him."

"What does Yevon have to do with this?" Wakka demanded.

Harry looked tiredly up at the blitzballer. "Yu Yevon was the leader of an anti-machina sect during the Machina Wars, and his solution to end the Wars was to create a near indestructible armour, with which he would be able to completely destroy Zanarkand. The armour was named Sin, in a reference to what he and his followers believed to be the 'sin of mankind', meaning machina. Yevon stayed inside the armour and continued to use it to quell machina uprisings for the years following the Wars.

"Eventually, he realised the wonder of being able to live forever in his creation and never came out. Now, I believe, he uses the life energy of the Final Aeons to keep going. It takes him time to fully assimilate the new aeon, which is the time period you call the Calm."

"So, while we relax and party, that guardian that sacrificed themselves becomes Sin?" Wakka asked, horrified.

Harry shrugged. "In a nutshell, yes."

Wakka fell heavily into a sitting position, shaking his head.

"But it could work, right?" Yuna asked hopefully. "Letting him use each aeon until we've killed it, until there aren't any left."

Harry nodded slowly. "The idea has merit," he admitted. "But we'll have to collect any other aeons that are in Spira first, or this won't work."

"How many more are there?" Tidus asked.

Harry held up a hand and closed his eyes, searching out his link to the fayth. 'Hey! How many other fayth are there that can grant aeons?'

'Four,' Neville offered. 'The Magus Sisters lay in Remiem Temple, just off the Calm Lands. Jessica's crystal lays in a building known as Baaj Temple. It's...'

'Neville?' Harry called, frowning.

'It's in Hogwarts,' Luna offered airily. 'There's a door underwater.'

Harry nodded, then opened his eyes. "There are four aeons left," he said to the watching circle. "The three Magus Sisters in Remiem Temple, and Seymour's mother in Hogwarts."

"There was a fayth in those ruins?" Tidus asked.

Harry grimaced. "Evidently so. Luna says the door is underwater."

Yuna nodded. "Okay. So, that's two places to go, and two summoners."

"Divide and conquer?" Harry asked with a thin smile.

"Yes."

"Rikku, how hard would it be to get a boat out here?" Harry asked the Al Bhed.

Rikku cocked her head to one side, then pulled something out of her belt pouch, which she then switched on. "Rikku **reporting in! We're a bit land locked and are wondering if someone could take us to some ruins?** " she asked. From the ground, Wakka groaned and hid his face in his hands, but didn't say anything. Everyone else looked somewhat confused, while Harry and Tidus watched the girl in silence.

Static was all they heard for a long moment, then, "Brother **here,** Rikku **. We have a few boats out that we could send your way, as well as the** airship **, which Father got working. Where are you?** "

Rikku danced a bit. " **We're in** Zanarkand **right now.** "

" **I thought you were keeping the** summoners **from going there!** "

Rikku frowned at Harry who rolled his eyes and motioned for the communicator, which the girl handed him warily. " **We said we'd keep anyone from calling the** Final Aeon **and sacrificing themselves to** Sin **, not that we wouldn't go to** Zanarkand **.** "

" **Where's** Rikku **!** "

" **I'm right here, stupid!** "

Harry rubbed at the bridge of his nose, then said, " **No one will be calling the** Final Aeon **again, we've seen to that. Now, would you please send a boat or something our way? We've got two** aeons **to get before we can destroy** Sin **.** "

There was a long silence from the device, during which Harry handed it back to Rikku and Tidus explained everything that had just been discussed to the rest of the party. There were some amazed exclamations about the airship, making Harry comment, "I'm surprised they got the bloody thing working again, personally." Rikku and Tidus both snickered at that, leaving Harry to explain the story behind the comment to the party.

Finally, the communicator crackled back to life and Brother said, " **We're bringing the** airship **to get you now. Which building are you in?** "

Rikku looked to the two party members who actually knew what the original Zanarkand had looked like – and understood what her brother had said. " **The** blitzball **stadium,** " Tidus said tightly.

" **We'll meet you outside it in about an hour.** Brother **out!** "

"We're meeting the airship outside in about an hour," Rikku explained to the party, so they all gathered their things and made their way back outside.

There, Sin sat, staring calmly at them as they walked out. Almost the entire party went for their weapons, but Tidus just walked towards Sin and called, "We've destroyed the Final Aeon! We're finding another way!"

Sin groaned and turned away, slowly returning to the water.

"Sir Jecht, right?" Yuna asked nervously as Tidus walked back over to the party sadly.

Tidus just nodded and found a piece of rubble to sit on. Harry and Rikku sat with him while the rest of the party found their own seats and they sat in silence for the airship.

-0-0-0-

On the airship, Rikku quickly explained everything to Cid, her father, while the rest of the party got showed to rooms they could rest in. Cid agreed to take Yuna's party to Remiem Temple and Harry's party to the Hogwarts ruins, then come back for both parties when they gave him the call. But they would only drop the summoners off _after_ everyone got some sleep.

After everyone had napped, Cid flew them over the Calm Lands and dropped off Yuna's party with Auron, as Tidus had told him Yuna's party would likely need him more than Tidus, Harry and Rikku.

Cid dropped the last three off at the ruins of Hogwarts, then flew off, leaving the three friends to pick their way back to the bridge that had fallen.

"It's funny," Tidus commented as they walked. "When I first came here, I didn't know anything, but now I feel like I know practically everything."

"Except how to defeat Sin," Harry said.

"No, we know that, we just don't know for sure that it will work, or how we're supposed to get inside him to do it," Tidus replied.

"I suppose we could just ask him to swallow us," Rikku suggested drily.

Tidus spun to look at Rikku, eyes wide. "Rikku, you're _brilliant_!"

"Now he's picking up my sayings," Harry muttered.

"How am I brilliant?"

"Yevon is inside Sin, right?" Tidus asked, turning to Harry, who nodded. "So we need to get inside him to fight Yevon. Why not just get swallowed?"

"Sin doesn't generally swallow things," Harry commented drily.

"What if we shot at it a few times with some forbidden machina?" Rikku asked, warming to the idea. "Like Tidus said, it's gotta be forbidden for a reason, right? Maybe Yevon's afraid it'll actually defeat his monster?"

Harry considered the suggestion. "The idea has merit," he agreed. "Machina has some powers that your average spells don't, and that's part of why they were so devastating in the Wars."

"And here," Tidus murmured, looking over the ruins.

Harry smiled sadly. "Yes, here too. But, I don't know how we'd get a clear shot at Sin. He'll be expecting an attack from us."

"The airship?" Rikku suggested.

"Would your dad be okay with endangering his prize like that?" Tidus replied.

Rikku grinned. "For a chance to get rid of Sin? Hell yes!"

Harry nodded. "We'll suggest it when we get back. For now, let's see about getting Jessica."

The group jumped down off the ruined bridge and into the water. There, they met up with the same water monster Harry and Tidus had run from the first time, but they were easily able to dispatch it with three fighters. After the fiend was gone, they found the underwater door and swam through to a bubble of air and a hallway. They walked up to the door of the fayth and walked in.

Jessica was already standing above her crystal when the three walked in and she smiled at them. "Welcome, Harry, Tidus, and Rikku."

"Jessica," Harry replied, inclining his head, which the two guardians mirrored.

"You have come for Anima," the woman said. "You will defeat Sin?"

"We fully intend to," Harry agreed.

Jessica glanced towards Tidus, then looked back at Harry. "This battle will end our dream."

Harry nodded. "I'm prepared to take it over."

Jessica cocked her head at him and nodded. "Perhaps you won't have to," she said, then left them, her aeon's ghostly form entering Harry.

Rikku and Tidus were both there to catch Harry when he fell to his knees, holding his head as if in pain. "The pain..." he whispered.

Rikku and Tidus traded worried looks, then Rikku said, "Kiss him."

Tidus' eyes widened in surprise, but he leaned over anyway and firmly kissed Harry.

The summoner gasped and opened his eyes, looking painfully up at the two guardians. "The–"

Tidus leaned in and kissed him again, since it had seemed to help.

Shortly, Harry relaxed in Tidus' arms, and when the guardian pulled away, he found that Harry was sleeping. He and Rikku traded amused looks, then stood and worked together to get their summoner out of the ruins and back onto the airship, where they left him in the room he'd been given.

"How'd you know?" Tidus asked Rikku as they stood in the upper room of the airship, looking out the windows.

"About you and Harry?" Rikku clarified. When Tidus nodded, she rolled her eyes and said, "Tidus, you gave him your _necklace_. You _never_ take that necklace off, not even for games when the opposing team could use it to choke you."

Tidus shrugged. "Maybe I was hoping it had some sort of magical protections?" he suggested.

Rikku rolled her eyes again. "And you two have been making eyes at each other from day one."

"We have _not_!"

"Okay, Tidus, how common is it for two guys to spend their free time worrying about another guy they just met? Because after Sin spirited you away from the ship, you were all Harry really talked about, and from what Yuna and Wakka have said, Harry was all _you_ could talk about."

Tidus grimaced and rubbed at the back of his head. "Were we really so transparent?"

Rikku sighed. "Well, it wasn't until _after_ you gave him your necklace that I really figured it out." She shrugged. "And Yuna saw you two, outside Zanarkand." She looked over at Tidus, who seemed torn between being embarrassed and horrified. "She was a little upset, but she's okay."

"Wait, upset?" Tidus asked.

Rikku knocked her head against the glass. " ** _Men_ ,**" she moaned in Al Bhed, making Tidus snicker. "She's been crushing on you since Besaid. Don't tell me you never noticed!"

Tidus rubbed the back of his head again. "Uhm, no."

Rikku sighed helplessly. "Somehow, I'm not surprised." She shook her head, then turned to glare at Tidus. "Don't tell her I told you _any_ of that."

Tidus rose his hands in surrender. "My lips are sealed!"

"You'd better hope so!"

The two shared grins, then turned back to look out the window.

After a while, Rikku asked, "What did Jessica mean, the 'dream of the fayth'? And why would Harry be willing to take on that dream?"

Tidus sighed and sat on the ground, back against the glass, to look up at the Al Bhed. "You remember that wall of fayth we saw on Mt. Gagazet?"

"Yeah. Really creepy."

Tidus nodded. "They were the people of Zanarkand, before Sin. They became fayth so they could dream of their home, their Zanarkand, just in case Bevelle succeeded. They didn't want their great city to be destroyed."

"Oh..." Rikku said, lowering herself to sit next to her fellow guardian. "But, what about you? If he dreams, he'll be a fayth again, right?"

Tidus smiled bitterly. "I'm part of the dream," he said.

Rikku covered her mouth with her hands, eyes wide in horror.

Tidus looked back out the window. "If this succeeds," he whispered, "Harry intends to become a fayth again and dream about me. So I can exist."

Rikku leaned forward and she hugged her friend, body shaking with quiet sobs.

Tidus wrapped his arms around her and just stared out at the clouds, not knowing what he could say.

-0-0-0-

Once Yuna's party had returned and everyone had rested again, they sat down around a table with Cid and discussed Rikku and Tidus' idea about attacking Sin with the airship. Cid, of course, thought it was a wonderful idea, so they quickly put their plan into effect.

It was hard going, but Harry and Yuna summoned Phoenix and Valefor to distract Sin while they used the airship's gun to severely wound it. Eventually, the gun went out, and all they were left with was the party atop the deck, who happily attacked what they could reach of Sin with a vengeance. When Sin finally started to fail, the monster opened its mouth and used a Gravity spell to draw the airship inside.

Once inside Sin, they left the airship to make repairs and went to find Jecht and Yevon. They found Jecht first.

"You're late, Auron."

"I know."

Jecht turned to the rest of the party and quickly spotted Tidus. "Hey."

Tidus narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest in response.

Jecht sort of laughed. "You here to finish me for good, then?"

"We must," Yuna said, staff held in front of herself in preparation for the battle ahead.

Jecht nodded. "Okay then. And, I warn you now, once this starts, I won't be myself any more. I won't be able to hold back against you."

"You won't beat us," Tidus said sharply.

Jecht laughed again and stumbled off the platform he'd been standing on, transforming into his aeon self.

The party attacked him with determination, though Tidus seemed to be the most determined of them all.

Once they'd defeated, Jecht returned to his human form and Tidus hurried to his side, not sure if he wanted to cry or punch the man.

"You'll cry. You're gonna cry. You always cry. See? You're cryin'," Jecht said, looking up into blue eyes with a sad smile.

"I hate you," Tidus whispered.

"Save it for later," Jecht ordered him.

"Right... we've got a job to do."

"Good. That's right. You are my son, after all."

Tidus smiled at him and stood. He almost lost his balance, but Harry was behind him, waiting, and caught him. Jecht glanced up at the summoner and, for a moment, he seemed to truly smile, then he faded away into pyreflies as a black mass came flying at them.

"Yu Yevon," Harry hissed, glaring at the ball.

And then, they were fighting. Harry and Yuna summoned their aeons, both with tears rolling down their cheeks as they watched the beings that had been with them for so long be destroyed by their friends. For Harry, it was almost impossible for him to watch Valefor, Ixion and Shiva be killed, but he made himself, because he wanted to remember them.

Then, only one aeon remained. Harry stepped forward and called his own aeon, Phoenix.

As soon as Phoenix was taken over by Yevon, Harry choked and fell to his knees, grasping at the robes over his heart. Yuna knelt next to him and grabbed his shoulders. "Harry!"

The ex-fayth gasped painfully and reached out with his free hand to grab at Yuna's shoulder, staring over her shoulder at where the creature that was, technically, his soul had been taken over by a being that meant only harm. "Oh, Merlin..." he managed.

As soon as Phoenix was defeated, Harry slumped against Yuna, breathing hard. "That hurt..." he whispered.

Yuna wrapped her arms around the other summoner and held him tightly.

They heard a sudden phoenix cry and Phoenix reappeared, alive again, only to be, again, taken over by Yevon.

"Why is it back?!" Wakka demanded, looking angrily over at where Harry and Yuna knelt. His anger cooled some when he saw how much pain Harry was in, but that still didn't answer his question.

Harry looked tiredly up at the great bird, crying. "No..."

"Harry?" Yuna whispered.

"He's..." Harry shook his head. "He's _gone_. I can't..." He closed his eyes and clutched the area over his heart angrily. "He's not inside me any more. He's not my aeon."

Yuna gasped in understanding and hugged Harry all the tighter. "What does that...?"

Harry let out a half sob. "The fayth aren't going to survive this battle," he said as the truth occurred to him, "and I'm a fayth, still. But I'm not, not any more, because I no longer have an aeon. I'm not–" He choked.

"Oh, Harry..."

Behind them, the rest of the party grimly faced down the ball that was Yevon, all of them occasionally looking over at where Yuna and Harry were huddled, needing to go and check on their summoners.

Finally, the battle was won, and the guardians ran over to the two summoners. Tidus reached them first and fell to his knees next to them, eyes wide with worry. Yuna wordlessly transferred Harry to the blond and waved off everyone's concern for her, far more worried about Harry.

"Harry," Tidus whispered to his crying summoner. "Harry, please, what's wrong?"

But Harry couldn't do more than shake his head.

Tidus looked to Yuna for his answers, and the girl said, "He's not a fayth any more. Phoenix came back to cut their ties."

The party let out various sounds of shock, but both Rikku and Tidus leaned over the older summoner, gently trying to calm him, both wondering if Harry would be able to dream Tidus back into existence if he wasn't a fayth.

"Harry," Rikku pleaded. "What about Tidus? Harry..."

But Harry only cried harder and clung to Tidus.

Tidus and Rikku both swallowed and looked at each other in understanding.

Tidus' time was at an end.


	10. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oui syo naxiena y puq uv decciac, tabahtehk uh ruf asudeuhym oui lyh kad.

The airship had managed to pick them up and take them outside before Sin imploded, sending a wave of fire across the sky. On the deck of the ship, Yuna and Harry danced together to send Auron and the aeons. The male summoner still wasn't as steady on his feet as the party had wanted him to be, but he was determined to help send his friends – as well as the unsent he'd suffered through for a week – to the Farplane at last, so he shook off their concerns and danced.

As the last of the aeons – Phoenix – faded, a blonde girl appeared before the two summoners. Harry reached out to touch her and the girl smiled. "He did it to save you, brother," she said.

Harry nodded. "I know," he whispered past the catch in his throat.

Luna nodded. "We know what the boy means to you," she whispered, looking back to where Tidus stood next to Rikku. "You will find him again. He isn't gone."

"He'll never be gone," Harry hissed.

Luna gently took the clenched fist. "I'll tell Ron and Hermione hello from you."

Harry nodded. "I'll visit."

"Don't take too long," Luna replied, slowly fading from sight. "Good bye, Harry."

Harry stared at the spot where Luna had stood for a long moment, then turned around and hurried to where Rikku and Tidus stood. The young man was smiling sadly, and Harry realised he could already see through him. "So it starts," Harry murmured.

Tidus nodded. "I'm sorry."

Harry shook his head. "It's not your fault."

"Harry?" Yuna asked. "What's going– Tidus!"

Tidus glanced down at his hand, which was almost completely faded, and smiled. "Pretty soon," he said, "I'll be nothing more than a dream."

"That's not _funny_ , Tidus!" Rikku snapped.

But Tidus just kept smiling as he turned to her. "Thanks, Rikku," he said. "Keep an eye on Harry, okay? You know how he always has fainting spells."

Rikku swallowed and nodded. "Yeah. I'll do my best," she whispered.

Tidus turned to Wakka, who had walked over with the rest of the party. "Wakka, it's okay to think for yourself sometimes, okay?"

"Yah, I'll keep that in mind," Wakka agreed.

"Kimahri, lighten up a little." Kimahri inclined his head and tried one of his infamous smiles, which got a few weak chuckles. "Lulu, it's okay to move on. I don't think Wakka's brother would have wanted you to punish yourself like you have been."

Lulu smiled. "I know."

Tidus turned to Yuna. "Hey, Yuna, sorry I never returned your feelings, okay?" The female summoner shook her head. "You'll find that special someone, some day."

"Thanks, Tidus," Yuna whispered, biting her lip.

Tidus turned to Harry and seemed lost for words for a long moment. Then he smiled a horribly sad smile and reached out a hand that was slowly disappearing to rest against Harry's cheek. "I love you," he told the summoner, then was gone.

Harry let out one, long, painful sob and fell to his knees on the deck, Rikku and Yuna both moving to comfort him.

-0-0-0-

The next afternoon found what was left of their party in the maesters' booth at the blitzball stadium in Luca. On the balcony, Maester Kinoc – the only remaining maester of the ruined Yevon – was introducing the party to the packed stands.

Yuna gripped Harry's hand tightly. She remembered what he'd once said about being in the limelight, but too many people had known who all was on that airship for him to have avoided the fame, so he'd had to come to the stadium, just like the rest of them. Harry, of course, didn't seem to care at the moment, since he was still suffering the loss of Tidus. Rikku and Yuna had hardly left his side, and had woken him from nightmares at least three times that night.

"Hey," Yuna whispered as she heard the words Kinoc had rehearsed with them, "this is our cue."

Harry nodded numbly and forced a smile on his face, hoping it didn't look as fake as it felt. "Ready," he whispered back.

Yuna gave his hand one last squeeze, then led the way out onto the balcony, their four guardians following behind them. As soon as the group appeared next to Kinoc, the crowds screamed their pleasure at them. Kinoc stepped back, letting the two summoners and their guardians take up the crowd's attention.

Yuna waited for them to fall mostly silent before saying, "Everyone... Everyone has lost something precious. Everyone here has lost homes, dreams and friends. But, Sin is gone now!" The crowd roared, and Yuna fell silent, waiting for them to fall quiet again. "Spira is free, and we can build new homes, and make new dreams. I know the journey will be hard, but we have the time, now, and I know we can do it. Together, we can do it!"

Yuna again waited for the crowd to quiet down, then added, "And, one more thing. The friends and the families we have lost... The dreams that have faded..." Harry hissed at that, and Yuna squeezed his hand.

"Never forget them," the summoners said together to cheers from the crowd.

-0-0-0-

"Where will you go?" Yuna asked, poking her head into Harry's room in the hotel they'd been housed at in Luca for the past few days. There had been too many Yevonites around for the personal comfort of the Al Bhed on the airship, so they'd flown it back home shortly after dropping the party off at the docks. Yuna, Wakka and Lulu had made plans already to go back on the boat towards Besaid later that day, and Kimahri was headed back to Mt Gagazet, but no one had heard what Harry was planning to do, except perhaps Rikku, who hadn't said.

Harry stopped his packing briefly and turned to look at the half-Al Bhed. "Rikku suggested I come visit her home for a while, on Bikanel Island." He managed a wobbly smile. "Never been to a desert before, so I took her up on the offer."

Yuna nodded. "Will you visit again?"

Harry sighed and looked away. "I don't... I don't know. I suppose so, eventually, but Cid promised the Al Bhed wouldn't bother me over much for my help in the defeat of Sin, and if I stay here..."

Yuna just nodded. "You'll have to come back eventually," she decided in a no nonsense tone. "Because you haven't been to Besaid yet. You have to see my home too, if you're going to see Rikku's!"

Harry managed another smile. "Yeah?"

"Absolutely! And... if you send word, ahead, I'll see if I can't get the villagers to shut up, okay?"

Harry nodded. "I... I think I'd like that. Maybe in a couple months?"

"Okay."

Rikku poked her head in behind Yuna. "Hey, ready to go? The boat's waiting for us!"

Harry nodded and shoved a few more things in his bag. "Yeah, I'm good now."

"Okay! We'll see you, Yunie!"

"Remember," Yuna ordered Harry.

Harry hugged her. "I won't forget," he promised, then followed Rikku from the room.

-0-0-0-

When Harry finally got to Besaid three month later, Yuna marvelled at how he'd changed. His time in the desert had tanned him to almost the same shade of golden-brown that Tidus had once sported. He'd also lightened his hair to better fit in with the almost completely blond community, and taken to wearing the same goggles and light clothing as the Al Bhed. If one didn't look too closely at the green eyes, one could have almost taken him for an Al Bhed himself.

The other thing that had changed, Yuna realised when he finally caught sight of her and his face broke out into a big smile, was that he'd seemed to have gotten over the loss of Tidus. That, or he was hiding it well.

"Yuna!" Harry called, finally reaching the other summoner and drawing her into a hug, which she gladly returned.

"I don't see Rikku about," Yuna commented teasingly. It was strange seeing Harry without Tidus or Rikku, but she felt it was probably wiser to _not_ mention the missing blitzballer, no matter how much better Harry looked.

Harry chuckled and tugged on a lock of messy blond hair, which was much shorter than it had been the last time she'd seen him. "Yeah... Cid had some stuff for her to do, so she let me come on my own. Probably because she knew you lot were here to worry about me." He scrunched his nose in distaste. "You'd think I was prone to fainting or something, the way she hovers over me all the time!"

Yuna laughed and shook her head. "Well, the village is a ways over that way. Have you got everything?"

Harry nodded down at the bag he'd dropped when he'd hugged her, then at the Al Bhed boat that was almost out of sight. "I sure hope so," he said drily, and Yuna laughed again.

Harry grabbed his bag and they started down the path to her home. "So, tell me about Home," Yuna requested, referring to the name of the place where the Al Bhed lived.

Harry grinned and cheerfully regaled her with stories of the massive machina constructs and the people inside them. She laughed at his description of how he'd been treated before he decided to change his hair colour, which had really made him stand out, and how the Al Bhed had been almost comfortable with him afterwards, as if the colour of his hair had been all that set him apart.

When they got to the village, Wakka and Lulu were waiting for them. None of the friends had quite known how Harry would be after three months away from everything, but when the two guardians saw him joking with Yuna, they both relaxed and walked out to meet them. The three introduced him around the village and he was met with smiles and not a single person acting awed over who he was.

At one point, Harry jokingly commented, "Either these people have gotten far too used to having a famous person in their midst, or you guys trained them to behave."

Yuna cheerfully replied, "Well, _I_ didn't go around telling them off, but Lulu might have."

Lulu cocked an eyebrow at the statement and they all laughed.

That night, Yuna finally had the proof that Harry was most certainly _not_ over Tidus, as the older summoner woke her with crying around one in the morning. When she crept into his cornered off area in the small hut, he looked up at her with red eyes and whispered, "Sorry."

Yuna shook her head and sat next to him on the bed. "Still having nightmares?"

Harry nodded miserably. "Haven't had them this bad since before I was a fayth," he said tiredly, clutching something in his hands. "It's so... pathetic!"

"Harry, it's not pathetic," Yuna replied, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "It's just human. We've all been through a lot – you more than the rest of us, I think, considering your life before being a fayth – and it's natural to have bad dreams."

Harry let out a dry laugh. "When did you become a psychologist?"

"A what?"

Harry smiled and shook his head. "Mind healer, of sorts," he explained.

Yuna huffed. "I'm no such thing," she said, "but I'm not completely stupid when it come to these things."

Harry eyed her curiously for a long moment, then said, "You had nightmares too, didn't you?"

Yuna smiled sadly and nodded. "Yeah. Still do, but they're not as bad as they were. Lulu says she gets them sometimes too. I have a feeling Wakka has them, but he hasn't said anything, so I can't say for sure."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, Rikku's been having them, I know, 'cause she's woken me a couple of times."

Yuna hummed thoughtfully, then said, "I wonder if Kimahri's been getting them?"

"What, a Ronso warrior getting nightmares?" Harry replied, a mock horrified look on his face.

Yuna started giggling and Harry soon joined her.

"Will you be okay?" Yuna asked once they'd calmed down.

Harry honestly considered the question. "I think I can manage getting back to sleep," he agreed.

Yuna nodded and stood. "Okay. Feel free to wake me if you need me."

"Yeah, thanks, Yuna."

"No problem. It's what friends are for."

-0-0-0-

"Hey, have you been to the Farplane yet?" Yuna asked about two weeks later over lunch.

Harry paused in eating his roll and slowly shook his head. "No. Not yet."

Yuna kicked her feet against the dirt floor a bit and smiled. "We should go, you know?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't really want to."

"You promised your friend you'd go," she admonished him.

Harry grimaced and nibbled on his roll a little. "Yeah, but... Going to Guadosalam means going out in public. And then people will–"

"Harry," Yuna said tiredly, " _I_ almost didn't recognise you, okay? I seriously doubt anyone in Spira will guess at who you are, whether we met them on our pilgrimage or not. Stop making excuses."

Harry was silent for a long moment. Eventually, he murmured, "What if Tidus is there? If he's really dead?"

Yuna looked at the other summoner sadly. "Do you think he'll be there?" she asked.

Harry shook his head. "No. And that's what scares me the most."

Yuna nodded and decided to leave the subject for now.

-0-0-0-

Three months later, Wakka proposed to Lulu and the whole village celebrated with a large bonfire in the square. "How does it feel?" Harry teased the groom-to-be while Lulu got cooed over by the other females of the village.

Wakka groaned. "Wonderful, yet terrifying." He rubbed at his face. "A part of me feels bad, because Chappu wanted to marry her, but..." He shrugged.

"You could always go talk to him, in the Farplane, though, right?" Harry asked. "That would make you feel better."

Wakka peeked over at Harry. "Yeah, I suppose. But, uh, I don't really want Lu knowing what I'm doing, ya? I mean, I can probably figure something out, but I'd need to go with something, and all the girls'll be planning the wedding..."

Harry blinked. "Want me to come with you?"

Wakka's eyes brightened. "Would you?"

"Sure," Harry agreed, and Wakka clapped him on the back firmly, saying, "Good man, good man."

Later that night, Harry thought he saw Yuna gleefully thank Wakka for something and had a sinking feeling he'd just been set up.

-0-0-0-

"Wakka, I don't want to go into the Farplane," Harry insisted, crossing his arms over his chest. He'd decided, when they finally set out, that he would go with Wakka to Guadosalam, but he wouldn't go into the actual Farplane. Hopefully, the three islanders would stop trying to talk him into going afterwards.

Wakka sighed and said, "I really don't want to do this to ya, brudda, but..." He pulled something out of his pocket that glinted in the low light of the small room at the Guado inn they'd rented.

Harry's eyes widened and he turned to his bedside table frantically, where he usually left the necklace Tidus had given him. The necklace Wakka was now holding. "Wakka..." he growled.

But Wakka shook his head and put the necklace in his pants somewhere. "You can get it back _after_ you go to the Farplane with me."

Harry seriously debated tackling the blitzballer for his necklace but, after bitterly reminding himself that Wakka was _far_ stronger than him, just nodded and followed the other man to the dreaded Farplane.

When Harry stepped into the Farplane, Wakka shoved him to one side, so he walked over to stand uncomfortably by the ledge and imagined his friends from back home.

Much to his surprise, the Ginny he summoned frowned at him and snapped, "You promised you'd be here sooner!"

"How...?"

Ginny huffed at him while, behind her, Luna and Neville rolled their eyes. "We were fayth, and the rules on the Farplane are a bit different for us," Neville commented softly. "So you're not just viewing memories of us."

Harry just sort of stared at the three of them, completely gobsmacked.

"I love what you've done with your hair, by the way," Luna commented, helpfully snapping the young man from his shock.

"Oh, er, yeah. I was living with the Al Bhed for a while, and the black hair made them uncomfortable, so I changed it. Never really thought to change it back, either, since no one recognises me as High Summoner Harry this way."

"Somehow, I'm not surprised," Neville replied, referring to his abhorrence of fame. Harry just sort of grinned.

"So," Ginny demanded, "what made you _finally_ come visit us? Hm?"

Harry glanced over his shoulder at where Wakka was, in fact, talking to his brother's shade. "Erm, Wakka stole my necklace and wouldn't give it back unless I came."

"You had to be _forced_ to come see us?" Ginny asked, looking hurt.

"It wasn't you guys I was avoiding..." Harry mumbled, looking away.

"No," said a voice that tore Harry's heart, "it was me."

Harry looked up and met the bright blue eyes. "T-Tidus?"

Tidus smiled at him and then, much to Harry's surprise, stepped onto the platform and reached out to touch Harry's cheek. "You're lucky Wakka forced you when he did," the blitzballer commented.

"Wh-why?"

"Because we'd almost run out of energy," Ginny offered drily.

"Their last act before they let themselves die," Tidus whispered, "was to make me real, but I could only come through here, on the Farplane."

"You're... You're really here?" Harry pleaded, reaching his hands up to touch Tidus' face, but not quite touching it. Not wanting it to all be a lie.

Tidus' hands pressed Harry's hands against his cheeks, which were as solid as they'd always been. "I'm here to stay," Tidus promised.

Harry let out a happy cry and hugged the blitzballer tightly, receiving an equally tight hug in response. When Wakka looked over in shock, Tidus grinned at the gobsmacked look on his face and waggled his eyebrows.

Harry smiled up at his three friends and whispered, "Thank you."

Neville, Ginny and Luna faded away with smiles on their faces.

-0-0-0-

Yuna looked up in shock at the impossible voice she heard just outside her home. Before she could do more than half-rise from the table, Harry poked his head inside with a huge grin and said, "Knock, knock."

"Oiy! Move it, you!" That same impossible voice demanded from behind Harry, and the summoner was shoved inside the hut. He was followed by a blond blitzer that Yuna knew only too well.

"T-Tidus?"

That grin she remembered from the happier days on the road broke out on his face and he jokingly commented, "You know, that's the same thing Harry said when he saw me."

"Oh, my... You're here! You're... You _are_ here, right? This isn't a dream?" Yuna demanded.

"She's more sceptical than you were, though," Tidus said to Harry.

Harry rolled his eyes, then smiled at Yuna. "He's real. Like, really real. Like, he's not going to fade if we defeat another Sin, real."

Yuna reached out a hand to touch Tidus and he obligingly moved forward so she could. As soon as she realised he was solid, she let out a squeal of delight and jumped into his waiting arms for a hug. "You're here! You're back!"

"Thought we'd been over that part already," Tidus teased, grinning at Harry over Yuna's head. The summoner rolled his eyes.

Yuna stepped back and looked Tidus directly in the eyes. "How?" she demanded.

"My friends," Harry offered, stepping forward to take the free hand Tidus held out towards him. "They managed to bring him back through the Farplane."

Yuna blinked, then turned on Harry and shoved a finger in his chest. "I _told_ you to go, didn't I!"

Harry smiled sheepishly. "Yeah. Sorry."

"Damn," Tidus said, blinking. "Was there anyone who _wasn't_ trying to get you to the Farplane?"

Harry grumbled under his breath in Al Bhed and the other two laughed.

"Oh!" Yuna said, remembering about one last person who needed to know about Tidus. "Rikku!"

Harry smiled mischievously. "I sent a message to her while we were on the boat between Kilika and here, telling her I needed her to get out here immediately."

Tidus rolled his eyes. "He sounded so pitiful in the transmission, even _I_ almost believed he was angsting."

"I don't _angst_!" Harry snapped.

"Actually," Yuna cheerfully offered, "you _wallow_."

"I don't–"

"Yes, yes you do," Yuna said over his denial. "And I have twenty witnesses out there who can attest to my claims."

Harry looked warily towards the door and the village, where said twenty witnesses were. He wisely decided to hold his tongue.

"Any guess to how long it'll take Rikku to get here?" Yuna asked Tidus.

Tidus snorted. "Based on Harry's message? She'll be here by tonight at the latest."

-0-0-0-

And indeed, Rikku ran into the village just as they were sitting down to supper. By that time, the idea had grown on Yuna to play a little prank on her cousin and she had a couple villagers set up to let her know when the Al Bhed got into the village. When they sent out the warning, Yuna hurried from the tent, pasting a relieved but faintly worried expression on her face. "Rikku! Thank goodness!"

Rikku hurried over to her. "Is Harry okay?" she whispered.

Yuna sighed and motioned her cousin to precede her into the hut. "Go see for yourself."

Rikku hurried into the tent and Yuna mentally counted down from five in her head before: " _Tidus?!_ "

"Hullo, Rikku," the blitzball player cheerfully said as Yuna walked into her home with an amused smile.

Rikku turned on her, opening and closer her mouth a few times without the ability to say anything.

"Harry brought him back from the Farplane," Yuna said with a shrug. "He was so attached; I had to let him keep it."

"Oiy! Who're you calling an 'it'?"

Rikku shook her head. "How the hell did you get him to go to the Farplane?" the Al Bhed demanded.

Tidus smacked the back of Harry's head, earning him a rueful grin. "Harry James Potter, if I find out _Kimahri_ was trying to get you to come to the Farplane too, I'll beat you."

Harry rubbed the back of his head. "You have been spending _way_ too much time with Ginny."

Tidus huffed.

Rikku shook her head at the two. "Damn. It really _is_ you, isn't it?"

Tidus grinned at her. "Yup. And I'm back to stay."

"Thank, _Merlin_ ," Harry added with feeling, and got a kiss on the cheek for his effort.

Laughing, the two girls sat down at the table and, together, they spoke of their pilgrimage with much more fondness than any of them had thought of it with since it had ended.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And because I _know_ people will ask: Tidus and Harry spent the rest of their days going between Home and Besaid to spend time with their friends. They occasionally dropped by the Farplane to see those they'd lost and made the hike up Mt. Gagazet to see Kimahri or the wall of Zanarkand fayth.  
>  No, I don't intend to do a sequel. Largely because I _hated_ X-2. And, anyway, that story's more about Yuna than the boys, and I don't feel like trying to fit them in.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [holding hands (while the walls come tumbling down)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2112834) by [Emmar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emmar/pseuds/Emmar)




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